Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Upgraded by Mizuho to Strong-Buy Rating

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) was upgraded by research analysts at Mizuho to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WTW. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $362.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 12th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $395.00 to $398.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $367.23.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of WTW opened at $329.76 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $292.97 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $324.29 and its 200-day moving average is $321.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.57 billion, a PE ratio of 15.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.63.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.The business had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.93 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,372,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,792,000 after purchasing an additional 103,784 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,238,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,041,000 after buying an additional 146,104 shares during the last quarter. Dodge & Cox boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after acquiring an additional 2,353,768 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,579,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,994,000 after acquiring an additional 62,570 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,334,000 after acquiring an additional 67,898 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.