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

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have issued a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $342.08.

Several brokerages have commented on WTW. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 price target (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $321.10 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $245.04 and a 12 month high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $323.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $309.96. The company has a market cap of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of -321.10, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% in the third quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% in the third quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 104,414 shares of the company’s stock worth $30,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,001 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 71.7% during the third quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,957,000 after buying an additional 2,775 shares during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% during the third quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after buying an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,156,000 after buying an additional 37,340 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.