Jefferies Financial Group Lowers Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target to $371.00

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its target price cut by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $373.00 to $371.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.50% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $387.00 price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $345.31.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.4 %

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $4.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $321.23. The stock had a trading volume of 284,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,018. The firm has a market cap of $32.02 billion, a P/E ratio of -320.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $326.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $315.48. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $7.44 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 85 shares in 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 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.