Cambridge Trust Co. Cuts Stake in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Cambridge Trust Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 46.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% during the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,796 shares of the company’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 248 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 8,694 shares of the company’s stock valued at $415,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 2nd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 68,918 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,751,000 after buying an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 14.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,403 shares of the company’s stock worth $115,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 65,412 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total value of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.21% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Essential Utilities Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG opened at $35.17 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.91, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.82. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 12 month low of $32.07 and a 12 month high of $44.05. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $35.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $35.62.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.49%. This is a positive change from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s payout ratio is presently 66.13%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Evercore ISI lowered their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.