Evercore ISI Raises Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target to $295.00

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price objective boosted by Evercore ISI from $290.00 to $295.00 in a research note released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the stock.

WTW has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $236.00 to $268.00 and gave the company a hold rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $297.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Citigroup raised Willis Towers Watson Public from a neutral rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $236.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 12th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $248.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Willis Towers Watson Public presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $293.43.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

WTW opened at $250.95 on Friday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a 12-month low of $195.29 and a 12-month high of $278.86. The company has a current ratio of 1.89, a quick ratio of 1.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $269.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.68. The company has a market capitalization of $25.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 0.73.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The company reported $3.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.21 by $0.08. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 16.31% and a net margin of 10.88%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.84 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 4.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 16.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Sunday, March 31st were paid a $0.88 dividend. This represents a $3.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.40%. This is a boost from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, March 27th. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.31%.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In related news, CFO Andrew Jay Krasner sold 1,100 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $272.13, for a total transaction of $299,343.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 4,170 shares in the company, valued at $1,134,782.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.22% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Willis Towers Watson Public

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Blueshift Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 12,992 shares of the company’s stock valued at $3,134,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 19.7% in the fourth quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 249 shares of the company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.7% in the first quarter. Live Oak Private Wealth LLC now owns 6,499 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,787,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 5.6% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 884 shares of the company’s stock worth $243,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.