Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.2308.

WTW has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Barclays decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $303.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, November 20th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, November 28th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 10th.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,126,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at $364,000. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 626 shares of the company’s stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 15,625 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,398,000 after acquiring an additional 435 shares during the period. Finally, Groupama Asset Managment acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at about $357,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $336.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.18 billion, a PE ratio of 16.00, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.63. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1 year low of $292.97 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $323.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $324.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 21.58% and a return on equity of 21.46%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 17.52%.

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.