Jefferies Financial Group Has Lowered Expectations for Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Stock Price

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target reduced by Jefferies Financial Group from $373.00 to $371.00 in a research note released on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the stock.

WTW has been the subject of several other reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $387.00 target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $344.00 to $395.00 in a research report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $346.38.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $321.74 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $326.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $315.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.08 billion, a P/E ratio of -321.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.68. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $245.04 and a fifty-two week high of $344.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 1.98 and a quick ratio of 1.72.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $7.44 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.14%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -368.00%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total value of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This trade represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.2% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 4,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,255,000 after buying an additional 686 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.5% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 13,569 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,997,000 after acquiring an additional 2,025 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 14,587 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,296,000 after acquiring an additional 3,807 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC lifted its position in Willis Towers Watson Public by 10.1% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 3,096 shares of the company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.1% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,013 shares of the company’s stock valued at $301,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.