Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Upgraded to Equal Weight at Barclays

Barclays upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) from an underweight rating to an equal weight rating in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They currently have $341.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $318.00.

Several other equities analysts have also commented on WTW. Citigroup upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. Evercore raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $392.00 to $358.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $341.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $373.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $289.90 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1 year low of $275.60 and a 1 year high of $352.79. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $312.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $323.35. The company has a market capitalization of $27.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.70, a PEG ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 2.21.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.47%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 375.0% in the fourth quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 76 shares of the company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8,200.0% during the third quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.