Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Boosts Stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG - Free Report) by 6.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 509,955 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,735 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.10% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $31,520,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Westpac Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Westpac Banking Corp now owns 14,597 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $893,000 after purchasing an additional 1,055 shares during the last quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 7,795 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $477,000 after purchasing an additional 613 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 93.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 26,468 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,619,000 after purchasing an additional 12,795 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,500,036 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $91,726,000 after purchasing an additional 30,414 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 9.1% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 64,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,916,000 after purchasing an additional 5,347 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction 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 approximately $1,997,409.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,374 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $66.37, for a total value of $91,192.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 152,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,111,270.39. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Richard T. Thigpen sold 4,800 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.18, for a total transaction of $308,064.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 31,122 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,997,409.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 9,322 shares of company stock worth $607,376 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PEG traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $74.22. 2,022,704 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,876,461. The stock has a market cap of $36.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.62, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.56. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $53.71 and a 1 year high of $75.12. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.24 and a 200 day simple moving average of $63.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.79, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.19.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.32 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.99 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 17.65% and a return on equity of 11.10%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 26.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.39 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.60 per share. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 7th. Public Service Enterprise Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.48%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on PEG. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $70.00 price target (up previously from $61.00) on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 22nd. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $67.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. TheStreet raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a "c+" rating to a "b-" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $70.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $67.15.

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.