Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Gap Down - Time to Sell?

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $330.67, but opened at $312.05. Willis Towers Watson Public shares last traded at $316.85, with a volume of 161,369 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WTW has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of 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. Raymond James raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an "outperform" rating to a "strong-buy" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $333.64.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 2.0 %

The firm has a market cap of $32.93 billion, a PE ratio of -44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a current ratio of 1.72. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $301.26.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The firm's revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $7.44 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 16.75 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a dividend of $0.88 per share. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.08%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -48.35%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company's stock worth $2,229,298,000 after buying an additional 7,561,114 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 844,417 shares of the company's stock worth $248,706,000 after purchasing an additional 620,926 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company's stock valued at $147,255,000 after acquiring an additional 498,915 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33,979.6% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 458,370 shares of the company's stock worth $143,580,000 after buying an additional 457,025 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canoe Financial LP purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 4th quarter worth $47,883,000. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.