Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Gets Price Target Trim from Robert W. Baird

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its target price cut by Robert W. Baird from $385.00 to $383.00 in a report released on Friday morning.

WTW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $364.00 to $360.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $381.00 to $394.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $344.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $332.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $369.94.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.3%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $1.09 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $325.51. 1,022,366 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 678,570. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52-week low of $240.61 and a 52-week high of $351.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $315.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $297.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.62 and a quick ratio of 1.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a P/E/G ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.44.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The company reported $3.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.59 by $0.04. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 22.65% and a net margin of 15.22%. The company had revenue of $2.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.07 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 19.78 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 30th were paid a $0.96 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.43%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 183.7% during the 1st quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 316,158 shares of the company’s stock valued at $91,907,000 after purchasing an additional 204,722 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management LLC Investment Advisor bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter valued at about $32,052,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the first quarter valued at about $30,058,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 86.7% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 190,955 shares of the company’s stock worth $55,470,000 after acquiring an additional 88,659 shares during the period. Finally, Westport Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter worth about $18,096,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and improve performance. Its clients include corporations, governments, institutions and individuals across a range of industries and markets.

The company’s services include insurance brokerage and risk management, reinsurance, employee benefits consulting, retirement and investment advisory, and human capital and organizational consulting.