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

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the ten research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $356.30.

WTW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the company’s stock worth $779,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. CX Institutional increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.2% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 795 shares of the company’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 2,979 shares of the company’s stock worth $933,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,983 shares of the company’s stock worth $621,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

WTW stock opened at $309.02 on Tuesday. 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 market capitalization of $30.64 billion, a P/E ratio of -309.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $317.14 and a 200-day moving average of $319.33. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $248.09 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $3.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.19%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is -736.00%.

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.