Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. purchased a new position in Essential Utilities Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 236,193 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,049,000. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned approximately 0.08% of Essential Utilities at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at $638,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 12,861 shares of the company's stock worth $508,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.8% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,674 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,173,000 after buying an additional 530 shares during the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 122.7% in the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 943,797 shares of the company's stock valued at $37,308,000 after buying an additional 519,933 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Wealth grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 22,322 shares of the company's stock valued at $882,000 after buying an additional 1,044 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Insider Activity
In other news, insider Colleen Arnold sold 2,855 shares of Essential Utilities stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.55, for a total value of $112,915.25. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $686,073.85. The trade was a 14.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Essential Utilities to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Essential Utilities in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $43.00 to $46.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have assigned a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.
Check Out Our Latest Research Report on Essential Utilities
Essential Utilities Stock Performance
Shares of WTRG stock opened at $40.18 on Monday. Essential Utilities Inc. has a 12 month low of $36.10 and a 12 month high of $42.37. The company has a market cap of $11.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.50 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $39.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.97.
Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The company reported $0.38 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.37 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $530.85 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $538.90 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 21.60% and a return on equity of 8.23%. Essential Utilities's quarterly revenue was up 3.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.38 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Essential Utilities Inc. will post 2.21 EPS for the current year.
Essential Utilities Increases Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 11th will be given a $0.3606 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.34. This represents a $1.44 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 11th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.47%.
Essential Utilities Company Profile
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Free Report)
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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