Short Interest in Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Decreases By 12.6%

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in the month of January. As of January 30th, there was short interest totaling 2,197,813 shares, a decline of 12.6% from the January 15th total of 2,514,813 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 512,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 512,062 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.3 days. Approximately 2.3% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company’s stock worth $429,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.6% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,588 shares of the company’s stock worth $875,000 after purchasing an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,400 shares of the company’s stock worth $811,000 after purchasing an additional 347 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 61.1% during the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 5,139 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 1,949 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $375.00 to $388.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, February 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $374.57.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $287.74 on Tuesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $275.60 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $27.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.30 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $322.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $326.95.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The firm had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $8.13 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 22.47%.

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.