Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 20.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 121,968 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 20,941 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,624,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bare Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 604.0% during the fourth quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company's stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company's stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 52.9% during the fourth quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 977 shares of the company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the business'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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI lowered 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, May 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $43.00.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 0.9 %

NYSE:WTRG traded down $0.37 on Monday, hitting $39.30. The stock had a trading volume of 922,613 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,737,579. The company has a quick ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market cap of $10.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.80, a PEG ratio of 3.50 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $36.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $36.30. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.26.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $479.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. Essential Utilities's revenue was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.44 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be issued a $0.3071 dividend. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities's previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities's payout ratio is presently 57.82%.

Essential Utilities Profile

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.