Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) Price Target Raised to $387.00 at Evercore ISI

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) had its price target boosted by research analysts at Evercore ISI from $373.00 to $387.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperform” rating on the stock. Evercore ISI’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.92% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WTW. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on Willis Towers Watson Public from $366.00 to $372.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $400.00 price objective (up previously from $380.00) on shares of Willis Towers Watson Public in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Wolfe Research raised Willis Towers Watson Public to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, September 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $316.00 to $305.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Willis Towers Watson Public from $358.00 to $377.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $367.09.

Willis Towers Watson Public Price Performance

NASDAQ WTW opened at $345.78 on Wednesday. Willis Towers Watson Public has a twelve month low of $286.35 and a twelve month high of $347.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.58, a quick ratio of 1.90 and a current ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.73 billion, a PE ratio of 236.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $330.44 and a 200 day simple moving average of $318.54.

Willis Towers Watson Public (NASDAQ:WTW) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The company reported $2.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.21. Willis Towers Watson Public had a return on equity of 21.60% and a net margin of 1.40%.The business had revenue of $2.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.23 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.55 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Willis Towers Watson Public will post 17.32 EPS for the current year.

Willis Towers Watson Public declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, September 18th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the company to purchase up to 4.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Willis Towers Watson Public

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,238,308 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,912,041,000 after buying an additional 146,104 shares in the last quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Artisan Partners Limited Partnership now owns 3,579,098 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,096,994,000 after buying an additional 62,570 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 2.4% in the 1st quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,856,440 shares of the company’s stock worth $965,334,000 after buying an additional 67,898 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 0.8% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,591,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $790,908,000 after buying an additional 19,384 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Willis Towers Watson Public by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,279,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $698,642,000 after buying an additional 103,695 shares in the last quarter. 93.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.