Allianz Asset Management GmbH Sells 158,563 Shares of Essential Utilities Inc. $WTRG

Allianz Asset Management GmbH decreased its position in shares of Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 22.5% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 545,007 shares of the company's stock after selling 158,563 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.19% of Essential Utilities worth $20,879,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WTRG. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,280,829,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,833,175 shares of the company's stock worth $530,641,000 after buying an additional 241,176 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 3,456.6% in the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 11,969,002 shares of the company's stock worth $458,532,000 after buying an additional 11,632,469 shares during the last quarter. Amundi raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 6,335,695 shares of the company's stock valued at $243,023,000 after buying an additional 1,586,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,233,715 shares of the company's stock valued at $200,197,000 after buying an additional 120,947 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Essential Utilities stock opened at $41.73 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.78 and a quick ratio of 0.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.64. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 1-year low of $36.10 and a 1-year high of $42.37. The company's 50-day moving average is $39.91 and its 200 day moving average is $39.21.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.37 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $530.85 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.23% and a net margin of 21.60%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.38 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 11th were issued a dividend of $0.3606 per share. This represents a $1.44 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.5%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 11th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WTRG shares. Barclays raised their price objective on Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. UBS Group increased their price target on Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Essential Utilities from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Essential Utilities news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares of the company's stock, valued at $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, formerly known as Aqua America, is a publicly traded water and natural gas utility holding company. Through its regulated water and wastewater subsidiaries, the company provides essential water services to residential, commercial and industrial customers. In addition, Essential Utilities delivers natural gas distribution services in Pennsylvania through its Peoples Gas subsidiary, offering integrated utility solutions under a unified corporate framework.

The company traces its roots to the Philadelphia Suburban Water Company, founded in 1886 to serve growing communities outside Philadelphia.

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