UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Has $5.53 Million Stock Holdings in Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural Holding (NYSE:NWN - Free Report) by 5.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 139,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 6,870 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.35% of Northwest Natural worth $5,531,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NWN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 4,713,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $186,475,000 after buying an additional 28,078 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 908,715 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,958,000 after acquiring an additional 24,510 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 715,951 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $28,323,000 after purchasing an additional 17,391 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Northwest Natural by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 615,126 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $24,334,000 after purchasing an additional 46,135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gabelli Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Northwest Natural by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 520,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $20,571,000 after purchasing an additional 8,000 shares during the period. 75.13% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Northwest Natural

In other Northwest Natural news, VP David A. Weber sold 2,183 shares of Northwest Natural stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $42.46, for a total value of $92,690.18. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 255 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,827.30. The trade was a 89.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director David Hugo Anderson sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.00, for a total transaction of $322,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 109,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,724,926. This represents a 6.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 24,774 shares of company stock valued at $1,037,295 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.93% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Northwest Natural from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th.

Northwest Natural Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Northwest Natural stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $39.74. The company's stock had a trading volume of 184,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 248,286. The company has a market capitalization of $1.60 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.72 and a quick ratio of 0.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $41.96 and a 200 day moving average of $41.32. Northwest Natural Holding has a 12 month low of $34.82 and a 12 month high of $44.38.

Northwest Natural (NYSE:NWN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.28 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.09 by $0.19. Northwest Natural had a net margin of 6.90% and a return on equity of 5.89%. The firm had revenue of $494.28 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $464.65 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.69 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 14.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Northwest Natural Holding will post 2.33 earnings per share for the current year.

Northwest Natural Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th were issued a $0.49 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.93%. Northwest Natural's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 77.78%.

Northwest Natural Company Profile

Northwest Natural Holding Company, through its subsidiary, Northwest Natural Gas Company, provides regulated natural gas distribution services to residential, commercial, and industrial customers in the United States. The company operates a mist gas storage facility contracted to other utilities, third-party marketers, and electric generators; offers natural gas asset management services; and operates an appliance retail center.