22,197 Shares in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Bought by First National Corp MA ADV

First National Corp MA ADV bought a new position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 22,197 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,006,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in California Water Service Group by 255.6% in the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of California Water Service Group by 50.2% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after buying an additional 413 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of California Water Service Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $119,000. CWM LLC grew its holdings in California Water Service Group by 129.1% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $168,000 after acquiring an additional 1,741 shares during the period. Finally, Old Port Advisors purchased a new position in California Water Service Group in the third quarter worth $202,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CWT has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They set a “buy” rating and a $57.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of California Water Service Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded California Water Service Group from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lowered their price target 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 issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $53.25.

California Water Service Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE CWT opened at $43.86 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $45.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $50.37. The company has a market capitalization of $2.61 billion, a PE ratio of 12.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.52. California Water Service Group has a 12-month low of $41.64 and a 12-month high of $56.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.60.

California Water Service Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.30 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.74%. This is a positive change from California Water Service Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.28. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.37%.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other news, VP Michael B. Luu sold 985 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $50,727.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 20,354 shares in the company, valued at $1,048,231. This represents a 4.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.73% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.