Jennison Associates LLC Purchases Shares of 27,609 California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 27,609 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,252,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 79.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 252,833 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,709,000 after buying an additional 112,118 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its position in California Water Service Group by 135.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 119,645 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,486,000 after acquiring an additional 68,914 shares during the period. Arjuna Capital acquired a new stake in California Water Service Group during the third quarter worth $3,724,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in California Water Service Group by 55.7% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 161,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,765,000 after purchasing an additional 57,811 shares during the period. Finally, Millennium Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,761,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total transaction of $50,727.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,048,231. The trade was a 4.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CWT. Bank of America initiated coverage on California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a "buy" rating and a $57.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $52.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE CWT traded down $0.15 during trading on Monday, hitting $43.71. The stock had a trading volume of 594,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 365,865. The company has a quick ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $2.60 billion, a PE ratio of 12.63, a PEG ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $45.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $50.30. California Water Service Group has a twelve month low of $41.64 and a twelve month high of $56.25.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, February 21st. Investors of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.30 per share. This is an increase from California Water Service Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. This represents a $1.20 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

California Water Service Group Company Profile

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution, and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection services.