Bank of America Corp DE Acquires 16,665 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Free Report) by 41.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 16,665 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 0.32% of Middlesex Water worth $3,014,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Middlesex Water by 771.9% during the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 497 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 440 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,136.4% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in Middlesex Water by 31.2% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.52% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott raised shares of Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $66.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, May 12th. Baird R W upgraded Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird upgraded Middlesex Water from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut Middlesex Water from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $61.00.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $56.14. 68,107 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 132,795. Middlesex Water has a 52 week low of $48.18 and a 52 week high of $70.73. The company's 50 day moving average price is $60.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.01 billion, a PE ratio of 24.41, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.55 by ($0.02). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The firm had revenue of $44.30 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $43.79 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 2nd. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were issued a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.42%. Middlesex Water's dividend payout ratio is 56.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Middlesex Water

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.