Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Given New $409.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its target price raised by UBS Group from $398.00 to $409.00 in a report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $318.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $379.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have assigned a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $374.57.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $290.09 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1 year low of $283.60 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $326.04 and its 200 day moving average is $327.76. The stock has a market cap of $27.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.71, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 1.69.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.93 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.87 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.53% and a return on equity of 20.91%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $8.13 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 11,372,970 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,928,792,000 after acquiring an additional 103,784 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,238,308 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,912,041,000 after purchasing an additional 146,104 shares during the period. Dodge & Cox raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 184.1% during the third quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 3,632,191 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,254,740,000 after buying an additional 2,353,768 shares during the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the second quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,579,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,994,000 after buying an additional 62,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,591,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,908,000 after acquiring an additional 19,384 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.