Willis Towers Watson Public Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NASDAQ:WTW)

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) saw unusually large options trading activity on Monday. Stock traders acquired 2,633 put options on the company. This is an increase of 565% compared to the average daily volume of 396 put options.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research note on Tuesday, March 18th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced 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, Barclays boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $346.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% during the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 5.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WTW traded down $16.92 on Thursday, reaching $308.76. 163,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 567,726. The company has a 50 day moving average of $327.13 and a 200 day moving average of $317.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.78 billion, a PE ratio of -309.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Monday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was 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 is currently -368.00%.

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.