Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) Shares Acquired by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG - Free Report) by 31.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,726,215 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,597,672 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 2.45% of Essential Utilities worth $244,296,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $45,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Essential Utilities in the fourth quarter valued at $102,600,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its stake in Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 24,652 shares of the company's stock valued at $895,000 after purchasing an additional 285 shares during the last quarter. Caisse Des Depots ET Consignations purchased a new position in Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter worth about $311,000. Finally, Korea Investment CORP boosted its stake in Essential Utilities by 34.2% in the 4th quarter. Korea Investment CORP now owns 87,029 shares of the company's stock worth $3,161,000 after buying an additional 22,200 shares during the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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Essential Utilities Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WTRG traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $39.64. 431,306 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,604,593. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a market cap of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.82, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.79. 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 firm's fifty day moving average price is $37.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $37.81.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The company reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $604.38 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $698.77 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.99 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 2nd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 3.28%. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is currently 59.91%.

Essential Utilities Company 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.