Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target Raised to $359.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price objective upped by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $352.00 to $359.00 in a research report released on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WTW. UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $295.00 to $314.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm lifted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $315.00 to $345.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $278.00 price target for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $272.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $312.27.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ WTW opened at $307.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $292.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.72 and a quick ratio of 1.72. Willis Towers Watson Public has a one year low of $234.00 and a one year high of $308.87.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $2.93 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.68 by $0.25. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 7.36% and a positive return on equity of 18.57%. The business had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.24 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, September 30th were issued a $0.88 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, September 30th. This represents a $3.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.14%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -48.35%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 520.3% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 417,427 shares of the company’s stock valued at $114,765,000 after acquiring an additional 350,135 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,728,554 shares of the company’s stock valued at $453,123,000 after buying an additional 261,562 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 22.5% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,006,728 shares of the company’s stock valued at $263,904,000 after buying an additional 185,126 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 456.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 198,389 shares of the company’s stock valued at $52,006,000 after buying an additional 162,741 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 161.4% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 190,101 shares of the company’s stock valued at $50,032,000 after buying an additional 117,372 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.