Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Sets New 1-Year Low on Analyst Downgrade

Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company (NASDAQ:WTW)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on the stock from $384.00 to $380.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Willis Towers Watson Public traded as low as $243.53 and last traded at $244.05, with a volume of 224643 shares. The stock had previously closed at $251.44.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $300.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $341.00 to $283.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 1st. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $347.00 to $300.00 in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public from $353.00 to $338.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $351.73.

Insider Transactions at Willis Towers Watson Public

In other news, insider Lucy Clarke bought 1,896 shares of Willis Towers Watson Public stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $263.37 per share, for a total transaction of $499,349.52. Following the acquisition, the insider owned 22,717 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,982,976.29. This trade represents a 9.11% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WTW. Dodge & Cox lifted its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 90.7% during the 4th quarter. Dodge & Cox now owns 6,925,525 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,275,728,000 after acquiring an additional 3,293,334 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $511,151,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC purchased a new position in Willis Towers Watson Public in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $284,570,000. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Willis Towers Watson Public by 657.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 941,637 shares of the company’s stock valued at $309,422,000 after buying an additional 817,301 shares during the period. Finally, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,505,195 shares of the company’s stock valued at $1,151,808,000 after purchasing an additional 664,202 shares during the period. 93.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

The company has a market cap of $22.80 billion, a PE ratio of 14.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $286.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $307.91. The company has a quick ratio of 2.92, a current ratio of 2.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.78.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 1st. The company reported $3.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.65 by $0.07. Willis Towers Watson Public had a net margin of 16.84% and a return on equity of 21.52%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.13 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that Willis Towers Watson Public Limited Company will post 19.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 31st were given a dividend of $0.96 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 31st. This is an increase from Willis Towers Watson Public’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $3.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Willis Towers Watson Public’s dividend payout ratio is 22.39%.

About Willis Towers Watson Public

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ: WTW) is a global advisory, broking and solutions company that helps organizations manage risk, optimize benefits and cultivate talent. The firm combines insurance brokerage and risk management capabilities with human capital and benefits consulting, actuarial and analytics services, and technology-enabled solutions. Willis Towers Watson serves a broad client base that includes multinational and mid-sized corporations, public sector organizations, insurers and investment managers.

The company’s core activities encompass commercial and reinsurance brokerage, risk transfer and risk-financing advice, and claims advocacy, alongside employee benefits and retirement consulting.