Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Receives Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) have received an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the ten ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $356.30.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTW shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $371.00 to $366.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $302.00 to $316.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating 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 boosted their price objective for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total transaction of $505,200.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 11,982 shares in the company, valued at $3,783,316.50. This represents a 11.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Crewe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 0.4%

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded down $1.31 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $302.38. 820,023 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 594,137. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.98 billion, a PE ratio of -604.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $308.81 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $317.46. The company has a quick ratio of 1.89, a current ratio of 1.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $255.19 and a 52 week high of $344.14.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.27 by ($0.14). The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.54% and a positive return on equity of 20.53%. Willis Towers Watson Public's quarterly revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $3.13 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 30th will be given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.22%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's payout ratio is -736.00%.

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.