Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Has $4.38 Million Stock Holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lowered its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 120,467 shares of the company's stock after selling 24,151 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp's holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,375,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WTRG. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Essential Utilities by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,061,135 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,091,820,000 after buying an additional 2,245,256 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 6,811,851 shares of the company's stock valued at $247,134,000 after acquiring an additional 972,803 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,305,976 shares of the company's stock worth $165,701,000 after purchasing an additional 82,456 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its position in Essential Utilities by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,731,011 shares of the company's stock worth $99,190,000 after purchasing an additional 175,707 shares during the period. Finally, Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in Essential Utilities by 4.2% during the third quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. now owns 2,531,297 shares of the company's stock valued at $97,632,000 after purchasing an additional 100,990 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 74.78% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WTRG. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Essential Utilities from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Essential Utilities from $39.00 to $41.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $43.50.

Essential Utilities Stock Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $39.41. 1,168,413 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,453,489. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a current ratio of 0.55. The stock's fifty day moving average is $37.19 and its 200 day moving average is $37.81. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $33.18 and a 1-year high of $41.78. The stock has a market cap of $10.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.01. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 7.89% and a net margin of 27.84%. The firm had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $698.77 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be paid a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

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.