Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Sells 3,500 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its position in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,547 shares of the company’s stock after selling 3,500 shares during the quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $842,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Choreo LLC increased its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Choreo LLC now owns 10,417 shares of the company’s stock worth $358,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in Essential Utilities by 78.9% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 737 shares of the company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich boosted its holdings in Essential Utilities by 3.1% in the third quarter. Bank Julius Baer & Co. Ltd Zurich now owns 10,831 shares of the company’s stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Essential Utilities by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Hamilton Point Investment Advisors LLC now owns 69,788 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,607,000 after purchasing an additional 342 shares during the period. Finally, Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in shares of Essential Utilities by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 12,631 shares of the company’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 368 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.78% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on WTRG shares. Evercore ISI dropped their target price on Essential Utilities from $51.00 to $42.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 4th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Essential Utilities presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $43.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares in the company, valued at $488,368.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 5,565 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.21, for a total transaction of $207,073.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 57,756 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,149,100.76. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total value of $73,960.88. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 13,358 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,368.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Essential Utilities Price Performance

Shares of WTRG traded down $0.05 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $38.62. 24,403 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,775,486. The company has a 50 day moving average of $36.02 and a 200-day moving average of $35.97. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a 1-year low of $32.07 and a 1-year high of $43.74. The stock has a market cap of $10.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The company reported $0.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $479.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $708.50 million. Essential Utilities had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 29.52%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 32.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.44 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 10th will be paid a $0.3071 dividend. This is an increase from Essential Utilities’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.23 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 9th. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 58.29%.

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.