Institute for Wealth Management LLC. Decreases Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Institute for Wealth Management LLC. trimmed its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,830 shares of the company’s stock after selling 345 shares during the period. Institute for Wealth Management LLC.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $404,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 604.0% in the 4th quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 711 shares of the company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 610 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 4,210.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 862 shares of the company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 842 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 112.6% in the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 863 shares of the company’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 250.0% in the 3rd quarter. Resources Management Corp CT ADV now owns 1,050 shares of the company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 750 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP purchased a new position in Essential Utilities in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Insider Transactions at Essential Utilities

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG stock opened at $35.44 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $44.05. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $35.69 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.05, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.82.

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

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3071 per share. This is a boost from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 9th. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 66.13%.

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.