Analysts Set Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target at $373.14

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the sixteen brokerages that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $373.1429.

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on WTW shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $398.00 to $409.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $365.00 to $345.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Barclays upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $318.00 to $341.00 in a report on Wednesday, March 11th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 4th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WTW. Dodge & Cox boosted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after buying an additional 3,293,334 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 4th quarter valued at $511,151,000. Soundwatch Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the 2nd quarter valued at $272,790,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC bought a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public during the fourth quarter worth $284,570,000. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock worth $309,422,000 after acquiring an additional 817,301 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of WTW stock opened at $289.51 on Monday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1-year low of $275.60 and a 1-year high of $352.79. The company has a current ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.71. The stock has a market cap of $27.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $304.14 and a 200-day moving average of $320.61.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 3rd. The company reported $8.12 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.93 by $0.19. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 20.91% and a net margin of 16.53%.The company had revenue of $2.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $8.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a dividend of $0.96 per share. This represents a $3.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.3%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.47%.

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.