Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Sets New 12-Month Low After Analyst Downgrade

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Friday after Wall Street Zen downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The stock traded as low as $275.37 and last traded at $274.8850, with a volume of 191979 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $287.86.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Truist Financial increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $363.00 to $354.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Evercore increased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $383.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.15.

Key Willis Towers Watson Public News

Here are the key news stories impacting Willis Towers Watson Public this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Positive analyst/stock-pick coverage highlighting WTW as attractive on valuation, which could support longer-term buying interest. Zacks: Here’s Why Willis Towers Watson (WTW) is a Strong Value Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Company launched “Digital Infrastructure Protector,” a data-center risk-management product that can expand fee-based services and cross-sell to enterprise clients — potentially supportive for revenue diversification and long-term growth. Press Release: Digital Infrastructure Protector
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo cut its price target from $379 to $351 but kept an “overweight” rating — the downgrade trims upside expectations but retains a positive stance, leaving mixed signals for traders. Benzinga: Wells Fargo target cut
• Neutral Sentiment: Cantor Fitzgerald lowered its target to $354 and kept a “neutral” rating — suggests tempered enthusiasm from another research desk while still implying upside from current levels. Benzinga: Cantor Fitzgerald update
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays reiterated a “hold” on WTW — reinforces consensus caution among some sell-side desks. Globe & Mail: Barclays remains a hold
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest spiked ~55% in March to ~2.77M shares (≈2.9% of float) with a days-to-cover of ~5.4 — rising short activity can amplify downside risk and volatility if bearish flows continue.
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods issued a pessimistic forecast on WTW, adding negative analyst sentiment that can pressure intraday trading and investor confidence. American Banking News: Keefe Bruyette & Woods pessimistic forecast

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Dodge & Cox increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the fourth quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,334 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth about $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 817,301 shares during the last quarter. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,151,808,000 after acquiring an additional 664,202 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $26.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $316.81.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $8.13 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be paid a $0.96 dividend. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.4%. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is 23.44%.

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.