Cambridge Trust Co. Has $1.76 Million Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cambridge Trust Co. decreased its stake in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 47,225 shares of the company's stock after selling 40,703 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,764,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.2% during the third quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 235,841 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,096,000 after buying an additional 29,372 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 94.0% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 81,799 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,808,000 after purchasing an additional 39,643 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC grew its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 9.9% in the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,360 shares of the company's stock worth $1,180,000 after purchasing an additional 3,104 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,168,585 shares of the company's stock worth $932,698,000 after purchasing an additional 99,560 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Secure Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,305,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WTRG traded up $0.28 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $35.44. The stock had a trading volume of 3,281,137 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,043. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $32.07 and a fifty-two week high of $44.05. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $35.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $35.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The firm has a market cap of $9.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.82.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 24.26% and a return on equity of 8.68%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 32.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.47%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In related news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.00.

About Essential Utilities

Essential Utilities, Inc, through its subsidiaries, operates regulated utilities that provide water, wastewater, or natural gas services in the United States. The company operates through Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. It offers water services through operating and maintenance contract with municipal authorities and other parties.