Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Coverage Initiated at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has initiated coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) with a "neutral" rating and a price target of $351.00, indicating a potential upside of 6.36% from its previous close.
• Other analysts have issued varying price targets, with Wells Fargo lowering its target from $387.00 to $369.00 and Barclays from $316.00 to $305.00, reflecting mixed sentiment towards the stock.
• Willis Towers Watson reported $2.86 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding the consensus estimate of $2.65, although its revenue showed a slight year-over-year decline.

Research analysts at Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW - Get Free Report) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm set a "neutral" rating and a $351.00 price target on the stock. Citigroup's price objective indicates a potential upside of 6.36% from the company's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 report on Thursday, July 10th. Barclays decreased 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 report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $364.55.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of WTW stock opened at $330.00 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 226.03, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.67. The company's 50 day moving average is $307.86 and its 200 day moving average is $316.59. The company has a quick ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 1.90 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52-week low of $274.00 and a 52-week high of $344.14.

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

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.75, for a total value of $505,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 11,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,783,316.50. This trade represents a 11.78% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WTW. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,368 shares of the company's stock valued at $429,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at about $41,559,000. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 337.8% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,869 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,152,000 after purchasing an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Guggenheim Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 13.6% in the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 2,471 shares of the company's stock valued at $774,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 143.0% during the 4th quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the company's stock valued at $754,000 after acquiring an additional 1,416 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company's stock.

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.

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