Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Earns Market Perform Rating from Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Investment analysts at BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, The Fly reports. The firm set a “market perform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets’ price target would suggest a potential upside of 2.75% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. MKM Partners upped their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $250.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, December 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Willis Towers Watson Public in a research note on Wednesday, October 12th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. TheStreet upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “c+” rating to a “b+” rating in a research note on Monday, December 12th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $242.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group boosted their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $288.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, four have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $267.36.

Willis Towers Watson Public Stock Up 0.5 %

WTW opened at $253.05 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $27.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.05, a P/E/G ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.79 and a quick ratio of 1.79. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $244.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $221.29. Willis Towers Watson Public has a fifty-two week low of $187.89 and a fifty-two week high of $258.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 27th. The company reported $2.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.14 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.95 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.99 billion. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 31.90% and a return on equity of 13.67%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.73 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 13.5 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.34, for a total transaction of $436,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,342,133.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Anne Donovan Bodnar sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.34, for a total value of $436,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 10,727 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,342,133.18. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Brendan R. Oneill sold 6,520 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.50, for a total transaction of $1,470,260.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,488 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,688,544. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.83% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,260,466,000. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership acquired a new stake in Willis Towers Watson Public in the second quarter worth $1,218,626,000. State Street Corp bought a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public during the second quarter worth $971,817,000. Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $487,982,000. Finally, Starboard Value LP bought a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the 2nd quarter valued at $443,241,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.77% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Company Profile

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Willis Towers Watson Plc engages in the provision of advisory, broking, and solutions services. It operates through the following segments: Human Capital and Benefits (HCB), Corporate Risk and Broking (CRB), Investment, Risk and Reinsurance (IRR), and Benefits Delivery and Administration (BDA). The HCB segment provides advice, broking, solutions, and software for employee benefit plans, human resources organizations, and management teams.