Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Position Reduced by Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC

Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC reduced its position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 3.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 102,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,394 shares during the period. Cramer Rosenthal Mcglynn LLC’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $5,389,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MSEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 187.2% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,871,000 after purchasing an additional 60,337 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 813,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,070,000 after buying an additional 53,098 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the fourth quarter worth about $1,595,000. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,246,000. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in Middlesex Water by 349.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 29,919 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 23,262 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Trading Up 0.6 %

Middlesex Water stock opened at $62.66 on Friday. Middlesex Water has a 12-month low of $46.15 and a 12-month high of $70.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.12 billion, a PE ratio of 27.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $58.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.57.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The company had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were paid a $0.34 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.17%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on MSEX shares. Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Janney Montgomery Scott reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Middlesex Water in a report on Friday, April 4th. StockNews.com raised Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, one has assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $58.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the transaction, the director now owns 52,112 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. This represents a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Company Profile

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.