Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Rating Increased to Buy at UBS Group

UBS Group upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. UBS Group currently has $395.00 price target on the stock, up from their prior price target of $344.00.

WTW has been the topic of a number of other reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI raised Willis Towers Watson Public from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $357.00 to $373.00 in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 price objective (up previously from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 2.0 %

WTW opened at $334.97 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $324.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $311.16. The company has a market capitalization of $33.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -334.97, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 52 week low of $245.04 and a 52 week high of $344.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.72, a current ratio of 1.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $8.01 by $0.12. Willis Towers Watson Public had a positive return on equity of 20.02% and a negative net margin of 0.99%. The business had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. 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 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -368.00%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $335.77, for a total transaction of $1,136,245.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,986,996.09. The trade was a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 94.9% in the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 115 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 121.1% in the fourth quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 126 shares of the company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich acquired a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 95.5% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 174 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.