Brokerages Set Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) PT at $369.42

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $369.4167.

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of 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. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $320.37 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $335.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $319.56. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $291.17 and a 12-month high of $352.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. The firm has a market cap of $31.25 billion, a PE ratio of 219.43, a PEG ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $2.26 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was 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 currently 252.05%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Figure 8 Investment Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,959,000. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 7.3% in the third quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 1,298 shares of the company’s stock valued at $448,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.5% in the third quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 38,588 shares of the company’s stock valued at $13,330,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.6% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 1,859 shares of the company’s stock valued at $642,000 after buying an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vivid Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,590,000. 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.