Willis Towers Watson Public’s (WTW) “Strong-Buy” Rating Reiterated at Raymond James Financial

Raymond James Financial reissued their strong-buy rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) in a research note published on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $400.00 price objective on the stock, up from their prior price objective of $380.00.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WTW. Barclays cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price objective on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, four have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $362.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WTW opened at $343.50 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $326.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.81. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1-year low of $286.35 and a 1-year high of $345.16. The firm has a market cap of $33.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 235.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 252.05%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $458,662,000. Dodge & Cox bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $391,837,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 40,489.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,007,429 shares of the company’s stock valued at $340,461,000 after acquiring an additional 1,004,947 shares in the last quarter. Soundwatch Capital LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $272,790,000. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $195,043,000. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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.