Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 87,621 Shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Free Report) by 30.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,471 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 87,621 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.34% of California Water Service Group worth $10,924,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in CWT. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 255.6% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in California Water Service Group by 109.9% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC boosted its position in California Water Service Group by 90.8% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 642 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group during the second quarter worth $85,000. Finally, nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of California Water Service Group during the third quarter valued at $119,000. 82.78% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.09, for a total transaction of $30,574.95. Following the transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,280.59. The trade was a 2.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.73% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their target price for the company from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $51.08 on Thursday. California Water Service Group has a 52-week low of $43.50 and a 52-week high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.60 and a current ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $3.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.76 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $52.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $51.87.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $1.03 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.05 by ($0.02). California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 13.24% and a net margin of 19.56%. The business had revenue of $299.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $289.55 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that California Water Service Group will post 3.29 EPS for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, November 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, November 12th will be given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.19%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, November 12th. California Water Service Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 32.37%.

About California Water Service Group

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.