Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW) shares reached a new 52-week high on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $342.17 and last traded at $340.36, with a volume of 535361 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $339.65.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WTW shares. Barclays upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $352.00 to $382.00 in a report on Friday, December 20th. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $365.00 to $400.00 in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $342.08.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Up 0.2 %

The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of -334.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.74. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $322.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $308.38. The company has a current ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 1.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.66.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $3.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $7.44 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 17.32 EPS 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 dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 31st. This is a positive change from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is currently -368.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC now owns 19,099 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 71.7% in the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,644 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,957,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 28.3% in the 3rd quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 104,414 shares of the company’s stock valued at $30,753,000 after purchasing an additional 23,001 shares in the last quarter. Atom Investors LP increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 64.0% in the 3rd quarter. Atom Investors LP now owns 8,014 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,360,000 after purchasing an additional 3,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 24.9% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 187,267 shares of the company’s stock valued at $55,156,000 after purchasing an additional 37,340 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is 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.