Brokerages Set Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) Target Price at $369.42

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fourteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $369.4167.

WTW has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $377.00 to $382.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $373.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Friday. Wolfe Research raised shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price objective for the company.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Down 0.9%

NASDAQ WTW opened at $328.34 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $335.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $319.45. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $289.12 and a one year high of $352.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The company has a market cap of $32.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 224.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The firm had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.23 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $2.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the company to buy up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently 252.05%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,208 shares of the company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 124.2% during the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,941 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,670,000 after purchasing an additional 2,737 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 14,108 shares of the company’s stock worth $4,768,000 after purchasing an additional 2,596 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 6,011 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,031,000 after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the period. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 33.9% during the 1st quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 9,196 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,327 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.