Brokerages Set Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target at $373.14

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $373.1429.

WTW has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Barclays raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $318.00 to $341.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.6%

WTW stock opened at $282.18 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $302.36 and a 200 day moving average of $320.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.68 billion, a PE ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $275.60 and a 52 week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $8.13 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.4%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 22.47%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% in the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $511,151,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter worth $272,790,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $284,570,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after purchasing an additional 817,301 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.