Brokerages Set Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target at $351.80

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $351.80.

WTW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $319.00 to $341.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, April 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was bought at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dodge & Cox lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company’s stock worth $727,149,000 after acquiring an additional 57,162 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company’s stock worth $446,108,000 after acquiring an additional 268,536 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 4.5%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $316.16 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $29.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 0.43. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $240.61 and a 52 week high of $352.79. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $271.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $286.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The company had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.13 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 22.39%.

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.