Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) Shares Purchased by State of Michigan Retirement System

State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 160,966 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System's holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $9,843,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PEG. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 61,673,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,509,864,000 after purchasing an additional 7,103,657 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 33,020,997 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,879,225,000 after purchasing an additional 726,613 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 30,420,823 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,904,648,000 after purchasing an additional 324,392 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,253,655 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $638,876,000 after purchasing an additional 221,305 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 7,049,245 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $401,173,000 after purchasing an additional 87,974 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PEG. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $64.00 to $63.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 14th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 target price (up from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $61.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $66.38.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 153,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,684,423. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total value of $308,064.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $63.00, for a total transaction of $86,562.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 153,721 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,684,423. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,948 shares of company stock valued at $510,300. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.3 %

PEG stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $66.64. The company had a trading volume of 3,717,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,953,447. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market capitalization of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 12.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.58. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $61.82 and a 200 day moving average of $61.32. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $53.71 and a 12 month high of $67.51.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.52 by $0.02. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 22.81% and a return on equity of 11.53%. The firm had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.64 EPS. The company's revenue was down 17.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 8th were given a $0.60 dividend. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 7th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 46.78%.

Public Service Enterprise Group Profile

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in electric and gas utility business in the United States. It operates through PSE&G and PSEG Power segments. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers; and appliance services and repairs to customers through its service territory, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs.