Keefe, Bruyette & Woods Cuts Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target to $373.00

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its target price decreased by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $382.00 to $373.00 in a research report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WTW. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $400.00 price objective (up from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Monday, September 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $355.00 price target on the stock. Piper Sandler lowered their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $387.00 to $356.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $351.00 target price for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.92.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Willis Towers Watson Public stock opened at $322.20 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $333.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $319.33. The stock has a market cap of $30.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 220.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a current ratio of 1.90 and a quick ratio of 1.90. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 1-year low of $292.97 and a 1-year high of $352.79.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The company reported $3.07 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.05 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 1.40% and a return on equity of 21.60%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $2.93 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Willis Towers Watson Public Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 30th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 17.52%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 8,200.0% in the 3rd quarter. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. now owns 83 shares of the company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 750.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 85 shares of the company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public during the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

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.