Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eight have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $295.54.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $297.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $298.00 in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $256.38 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $26.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.75. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $195.29 and a one year high of $278.86. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $264.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.89 and a current ratio of 1.89.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.84 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.28 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Investors of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.31%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total value of $299,343.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,134,782.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Blueshift Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,134,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% during the 4th quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% during the 1st quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,787,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 884 shares of the company’s stock valued at $243,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.