Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Brokerages

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $342.08.

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WTW shares. Barclays increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th.

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Insider Activity at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the sale, the insider now owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.22% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 337 shares of the company's stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Vident Advisory LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 1,419 shares of the company's stock worth $418,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 237 shares of the company's stock worth $70,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 1,197 shares of the company's stock worth $375,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $5.51 during trading on Thursday, hitting $324.61. 627,380 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 502,666. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1 year low of $245.04 and a 1 year high of $344.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.36 billion, a P/E ratio of -324.61, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $323.94 and a 200-day simple moving average of $310.45.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public's previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -368.00%.

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.