Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Given New $303.00 Price Target at Barclays

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target decreased by equities research analysts at Barclays from $341.00 to $303.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “underweight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s price target indicates a potential downside of 4.04% from the company’s previous close.

WTW has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on 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. TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $408.00 to $391.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 10th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $382.00 to $373.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $368.62.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW traded down $1.60 during trading on Thursday, hitting $315.77. 197,948 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 629,687. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $331.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $320.06. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1-year low of $292.97 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The firm has a market cap of $30.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 216.56, a PEG ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.05 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.Willis Towers Watson Public’s revenue was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.93 earnings per share. Equities 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 has initiated 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 usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock valued at $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 76.4% during the second quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 2,392 shares of the company’s stock valued at $733,000 after purchasing an additional 1,036 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,108,000 after buying an additional 2,327 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 87.6% in the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 4,867 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,272 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Shore Management Inc CT lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sound Shore Management Inc CT now owns 257,128 shares of the company’s stock valued at $78,810,000 after purchasing an additional 26,420 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.