Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Research Coverage Started at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) in a research note released on Thursday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the stock.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $250.00 to $280.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 17th. Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a neutral rating to a buy rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a c+ rating to a b+ rating in a research report on Monday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $218.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 18th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $267.23.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 2.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $223.34 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $23.80 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $244.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.27. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $187.89 and a fifty-two week high of $258.93. The company has a quick ratio of 1.69, a current ratio of 1.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 9th. The company reported $6.33 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $6.29 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.72 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 11.38% and a return on equity of 14.53%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up .6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $5.67 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 14.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 31st will be given a $0.84 dividend. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.82. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.96%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 5,000 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total value of $1,269,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,164 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,327,106.16. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.70, for a total transaction of $740,100.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 85,050 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,981,835. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.94, for a total transaction of $1,269,700.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 9,164 shares in the company, valued at $2,327,106.16. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 1,699 shares of the company’s stock valued at $416,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 1,515 shares of the company’s stock valued at $371,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,353 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,043,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Steel Canyon Capital LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Steel Canyon Capital LLC now owns 16,063 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,929,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AMG National Trust Bank lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the third quarter. AMG National Trust Bank now owns 17,688 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,555,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. 93.77% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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Willis Towers Watson Plc engages in the provision of advisory, broking, and solutions services. It operates through the following segments: Human Capital and Benefits (HCB), Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (IRR), and Benefits Delivery and Administration (BDA). The HCB segment provides advice, broking, solutions, and software for employee benefit plans, human resources organizations, and management teams.