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

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $368.7692.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 1st.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 1.1%

NASDAQ:WTW opened at $318.60 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $332.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $320.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $292.97 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 218.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.93 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to repurchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 17.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 76.4% during the 2nd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock worth $733,000 after buying an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% in the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 2,327 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% during the second quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the period. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% in the second quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 257,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,810,000 after acquiring an additional 26,420 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.