Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target Cut to $353.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price objective decreased by Mizuho from $358.00 to $353.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the company. Citigroup raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $351.00 to $366.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $388.00 to $384.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Barclays reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $322.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, December 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $367.77.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 2.8%

WTW opened at $287.94 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71, a current ratio of 2.21 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $295.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $316.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.62. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $273.59 and a 12 month high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $8.13 EPS. 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 23.44%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 44.3% during the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 102,296 shares of the company’s stock worth $33,821,000 after purchasing an additional 31,383 shares during the last quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 142,538 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,838,000 after purchasing an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 103.0% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 1,581 shares of the company’s stock worth $520,000 after purchasing an additional 802 shares during the last quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 7,035 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,314,000 after purchasing an additional 758 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 502 shares of the company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.