Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Issues Positive Forecast for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Price

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $378.00 to $387.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the stock.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Barclays lifted 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. UBS Group raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $334.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $333.29.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

WTW opened at $312.92 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $242.54 and a 12-month high of $334.99. The company has a market cap of $31.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -42.98, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.72, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The company’s 50 day moving average is $314.60 and its 200 day moving average is $293.52.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.75 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.88 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.12%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -48.35%.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95,880.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 7,569,000 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,229,298,000 after acquiring an additional 7,561,114 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 277.8% in 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 valued at $248,706,000 after purchasing an additional 620,926 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 47,515.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 499,965 shares of the company’s stock worth $147,255,000 after purchasing an additional 498,915 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 456.5% during the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 198,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,006,000 after purchasing an additional 162,741 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 3rd quarter valued at $39,999,000. 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.