Vontobel Holding Ltd. Decreases Position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its stake in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 45.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,803 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 21,352 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $1,250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,514,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $340,642,000 after purchasing an additional 158,295 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 4.9% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 1,689,977 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $76,607,000 after purchasing an additional 79,658 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,360,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $61,670,000 after purchasing an additional 22,192 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 13.1% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 979,138 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $44,384,000 after purchasing an additional 113,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 928,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,073,000 after purchasing an additional 49,107 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling 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 transaction of $55,812.00. Following the sale, the director owned 26,349 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,225,491.99. The trade was a 4.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.77% of the company's stock.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 1.0%

California Water Service Group stock traded down $0.46 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $45.78. The stock had a trading volume of 163,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 337,933. The stock has a market cap of $2.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.08, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 0.64. California Water Service Group has a 52 week low of $41.64 and a 52 week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.53 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.55.

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

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.62%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. California Water Service Group's payout ratio is 52.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have issued reports on CWT. 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of California Water Service Group from $54.00 to $59.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of California Water Service Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st.

About California Water Service Group

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.