Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Upgraded at UBS Group

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

WTW has been the subject of a number of other reports. Barclays raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $278.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Raymond James upgraded Willis Towers Watson Public from an “outperform” rating to a “strong-buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $365.00 to $400.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $380.00 target price (up from $365.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $378.00 to $387.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $380.00 to $345.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $346.15.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WTW opened at $334.51 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $325.71 and a 200 day moving average of $311.48. The company has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of -334.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.71. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $245.04 and a 12-month high of $344.14. 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 released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $8.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.01 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $3.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.05 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a negative net margin of 0.99% and a positive return on equity of 20.02%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $7.44 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 31st will be given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 31st. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.88. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.10%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s payout ratio is -368.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Willis Towers Watson Public news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 3,384 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 74,417 shares in the company, valued at $24,986,996.09. This represents a 4.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Timber Creek Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Atom Investors LP lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC lifted its stake in Willis Towers Watson Public by 205.6% during the 3rd quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 4,596 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,354,000 after acquiring an additional 3,092 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.09% of the company’s stock.

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.