Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Given New $322.00 Price Target at Barclays

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price objective trimmed by Barclays from $341.00 to $322.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an equal weight rating on the stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WTW. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $392.00 to $358.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $369.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $290.82 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $297.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $317.42. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $275.60 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market cap of $27.40 billion, a PE ratio of 17.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $8.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 23.44%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.5% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 179,771 shares of the company’s stock valued at $62,102,000 after acquiring an additional 12,575 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 25.4% during the third quarter. Heartland Advisors Inc. now owns 23,959 shares of the company’s stock valued at $8,277,000 after acquiring an additional 4,859 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 196,833 shares of the company’s stock valued at $67,996,000 after acquiring an additional 3,454 shares in the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.0% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 679,513 shares of the company’s stock valued at $234,738,000 after acquiring an additional 19,515 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 512.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 43,903 shares of the company’s stock valued at $14,757,000 after acquiring an additional 36,738 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.