Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Shares Down 3.2% After Analyst Downgrade

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) shares traded down 3.2% during mid-day trading on Tuesday after BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on the stock from $260.00 to $230.00. The stock traded as low as $221.11 and last traded at $222.53. 45,540 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 519,797 shares. The stock had previously closed at $229.95.

Several other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $228.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $235.00 to $230.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $255.00 to $256.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Willis Towers Watson Public from $303.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $290.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.54.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Julie Jarecke Gebauer sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $231.44, for a total value of $578,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 79,740 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,455,025.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 110.7% during the 3rd quarter. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board now owns 4,129 shares of the company’s stock worth $830,000 after buying an additional 2,169 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 62,114 shares of the company’s stock valued at $15,192,000 after purchasing an additional 8,308 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 35.1% during the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 3,070 shares of the company’s stock worth $751,000 after acquiring an additional 797 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 21,269 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,202,000 after acquiring an additional 708 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PGGM Investments acquired a new stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in the third quarter worth $3,699,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.77% of the company’s stock.

Willis Towers Watson Public Trading Down 3.7 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $231.27 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.02. The firm has a market cap of $23.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.21, a PEG ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 0.75.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 27th. The company reported $2.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.81 by $0.03. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 12.18%. The business had revenue of $2.24 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.66 earnings per share. Willis Towers Watson Public’s quarterly revenue was up 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited will post 14.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 17th. Investors of record on Friday, June 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.84 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 29th. This represents a $3.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.52%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 33.70%.

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.