Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, nine have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $351.80.

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTW. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $322.00 to $303.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $374.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Truist Financial raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $354.00 to $347.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $295.11 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $27.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.21, a P/E/G ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $269.24 and its 200 day simple moving average is $287.33. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $240.61 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 19.53 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 30th were issued a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is presently 22.39%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Lucy Clarke purchased 1,896 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at $5,982,976.29. The trade was a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AlTi Global Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. AlTi Global Inc. now owns 3,302 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,088,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 72.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 88 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 3,064 shares of the company’s stock valued at $801,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% during the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,939 shares of the company’s stock worth $966,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 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.