Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives $312.27 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Hold" from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $312.27.

A number of brokerages have commented on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $352.00 to $359.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Barclays started coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an "underweight" rating and a $278.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $0.40 on Friday, hitting $316.30. The stock had a trading volume of 581,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 475,299. The company's 50 day moving average price is $294.22 and its 200 day moving average price is $274.90. The stock has a market cap of $31.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -43.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.73. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52-week low of $234.01 and a 52-week high of $320.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 18.57% and a negative net margin of 7.36%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.64 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is presently -48.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,229,298,000 after buying an additional 7,561,114 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,002,167 shares of the company's stock worth $589,698,000 after purchasing an additional 10,856 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company's stock valued at $453,123,000 after purchasing an additional 261,562 shares during the period. Baupost Group LLC MA boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,652,648 shares of the company's stock valued at $433,225,000 after purchasing an additional 96,981 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 1,122,475 shares of the company's stock worth $294,246,000 after buying an additional 39,288 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.