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

Key Points

• Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ: WTW) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with a 1-year price target averaging $362.92.
• The company reported earnings of $2.86 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and indicating a net margin of 1.40%.
• Willis Towers Watson has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.92 to be paid on October 15th, with a dividend yield of 1.1%.

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $362.9167.

WTW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $335.00 to $345.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $369.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $355.00 target price for the company.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $327.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $317.74 and a 200-day moving average of $317.41. The firm has a market cap of $31.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 224.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a twelve month low of $283.29 and a twelve month high of $344.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The company had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.55 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio is 252.05%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC lifted its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 10,828 shares of the company's stock valued at $3,319,000 after acquiring an additional 867 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 7,093 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,173,000 after buying an additional 643 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 37.7% in the 2nd quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 1,103 shares of the company's stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 302 shares during the period. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 3,333 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,022,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $81,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.09% of the company's stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.