California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Bank of New York Mellon Corp

Bank of New York Mellon Corp trimmed its holdings in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 602,892 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,287 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 1.01% of California Water Service Group worth $29,216,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.6% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 10,806 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $524,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 9,420 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 327 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 12,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 382 shares during the period. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 55,060 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,496,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the period. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.6% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,969 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 426 shares during the period. 82.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at California Water Service Group

In related news, Director Lester A. Snow sold 1,200 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.51, for a total value of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 26,349 shares in the company, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Wall Street Zen cut shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

Shares of California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.21 during trading on Friday, reaching $45.13. The company's stock had a trading volume of 433,403 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,407. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $46.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $46.56. The firm has a market cap of $2.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.79, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a fifty-two week low of $41.64 and a fifty-two week high of $56.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.16 by $0.06. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 13.84% and a return on equity of 8.32%. The firm had revenue of $203.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $194.80 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. California Water Service Group's quarterly revenue was down 24.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, May 12th were given a dividend of $0.30 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 12th. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.66%. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is currently 52.63%.

California Water Service Group Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.