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

Key Points

• Analysts rate WTW a “Moderate Buy”: Ten of 18 analysts recommend buying the stock, seven rate it a hold and one gives it a strong buy rating. The average 12-month price target is $365.38.
• Recent earnings exceeded expectations: Willis Towers Watson reported quarterly EPS of $3.35 versus the $3.12 consensus estimate, while revenue rose 9.1% year over year to $2.47 billion.
• Institutional ownership remains high: Institutional investors own 93.09% of WTW, with major firms including Dodge & Cox and T. Rowe Price increasing their stakes during the fourth quarter.

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, ten have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $365.3750.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $320.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $344.00 to $380.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $338.00 to $361.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $283.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $378.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 31st.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Dodge & Cox raised its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,275,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company's stock worth $1,151,808,000 after purchasing an additional 664,202 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,212,870 shares of the company's stock worth $727,149,000 after purchasing an additional 57,162 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter valued at $511,151,000. Finally, Baupost Group LLC MA increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.7% during the fourth quarter. Baupost Group LLC MA now owns 1,357,601 shares of the company's stock valued at $446,108,000 after purchasing an additional 268,536 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Shares of WTW opened at $335.46 on Thursday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12 month low of $240.61 and a 12 month high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $296.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $287.95. The company has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 0.42.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, July 30th. The company reported $3.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.12 by $0.23. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 22.19% and a net margin of 15.49%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.86 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 19.77 earnings per share for the current year.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public NASDAQ: WTW is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company's core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

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