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

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten brokerages that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $356.30.

A number of research firms have issued reports on WTW. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $371.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Barclays raised their target price on 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 Willis Towers Watson Public from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price 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.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 2,018 shares of the company's stock worth $682,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 1,405 shares of the company's stock worth $440,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 38.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 140 shares of the company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,408 shares of the company's stock worth $476,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 718 shares of the company's stock worth $243,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.3%

WTW stock traded up $0.83 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $316.11. The stock had a trading volume of 809,671 shares, compared to its average volume of 584,603. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $252.22 and a one year high of $344.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66. The company's 50 day moving average is $315.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $319.24. The company has a market capitalization of $31.34 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -316.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The company reported $3.13 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.27 by ($0.14). The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.29 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm's revenue was down 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Investors of record on Monday, June 30th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 30th. Willis Towers Watson Public's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -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.