Barclays Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Price

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target lowered by investment analysts at Barclays from $322.00 to $303.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “equal weight” rating on the stock. Barclays‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 3.21% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WTW. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $379.00 to $351.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $400.00 to $374.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Truist Financial raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $330.00 to $320.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $348.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock traded up $5.92 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $293.58. 180,252 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 764,167. The company has a market cap of $27.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a PEG ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78, a quick ratio of 2.92 and a current ratio of 2.92. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $261.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $291.02. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52-week low of $240.61 and a 52-week high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.65 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.41 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.52% and a net margin of 16.84%.The company’s revenue was up 8.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 19.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $263.37 per share, with a total value of $499,349.52. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at $5,982,976.29. This represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. CX Institutional lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 60.9% in the 2nd quarter. CX Institutional now owns 1,500 shares of the company’s stock worth $392,000 after acquiring an additional 568 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 74.1% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 6,299 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,682 shares during the last quarter. Carlson Capital L.P. purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter worth $320,000. Glenmede Trust Co. NA raised its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 134.3% in the 1st quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 4,166 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,388 shares during the period. Finally, Summitry LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.2% in the first quarter. Summitry LLC now owns 962 shares of the company’s stock worth $280,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.