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

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $350.00.

WTW has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $400.00 to $374.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 9th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 8th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.3%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $261.37 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $240.61 and a one year high of $352.79. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $262.18 and a 200 day moving average of $292.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The stock has a market cap of $24.69 billion, a PE ratio of 15.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.43.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, 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 SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter worth $27,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.