Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Raises Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target to $317.00

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $307.00 to $317.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WTW. Citigroup upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a neutral rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the stock a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $290.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.5 %

WTW opened at $263.83 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a current ratio of 1.45. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $195.29 and a fifty-two week high of $278.86. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $271.54 and its 200 day moving average is $247.16. The stock has a market cap of $26.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.52 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The company reported $7.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.05 by $0.39. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.12% and a return on equity of 15.70%. The company had revenue of $2.91 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $6.33 EPS. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.33%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.13%.

Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 168.8% in the 4th quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 129 shares of the company’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.