Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives $365.67 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) have been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen analysts that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, four have given a hold recommendation, eight have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $365.6667.

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WTW shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $362.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Monday, December 8th. Wolfe Research raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, November 28th.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WTW. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. grew its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 8,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Raiffeisen Bank International AG bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 3rd quarter valued at about $31,000. Quent Capital LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Motco boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1,933.3% during the third quarter. Motco now owns 122 shares of the company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 1.2%

WTW stock opened at $330.77 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.61, a current ratio of 1.69 and a quick ratio of 1.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.63. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $292.97 and a fifty-two week high of $352.79. The business has a 50-day moving average of $324.69 and a 200-day moving average of $321.50.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.46% and a net margin of 21.58%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $2.93 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is presently 17.52%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company operates as an advisory, broking, and solutions company worldwide. It operates through two segments: Health, Wealth & Career and Risk & Broking. The company offers strategy and design consulting, plan management service and support, broking and administration services for health, wellbeing, and other group benefit program, including medical, dental, disability, life, voluntary benefits and other coverages; actuarial support, plan design, and administrative services for pension and retirement savings plans; retirement consulting services and solutions; and integrated solutions that consists of investment discretionary management, pension administration, core actuarial, and communication and change management assistance services.