Pathway Financial Advisers LLC Sells 1,221,996 Shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC cut its holdings in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 97.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 33,487 shares of the company’s stock after selling 1,221,996 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $1,216,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WTRG. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Essential Utilities by 108.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 150,332 shares of the company’s stock valued at $5,460,000 after acquiring an additional 78,121 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 70,100 shares of the company’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Essential Utilities during the fourth quarter valued at about $60,000. First National Corp MA ADV increased its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities by 81.5% in the fourth quarter. First National Corp MA ADV now owns 28,891 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,049,000 after purchasing an additional 12,976 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Benedict Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 77,700 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,822,000 after buying an additional 902 shares in the last quarter. 74.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of WTRG opened at $35.75 on Thursday. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a twelve month low of $33.18 and a twelve month high of $41.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $35.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $38.15. The company has a market cap of $9.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.86.

Essential Utilities Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 3rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be given a dividend of $0.3255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.64%. Essential Utilities’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 65.00%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WTRG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $46.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Essential Utilities from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $41.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Essential Utilities from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $43.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Essential Utilities has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $43.00.

Essential Utilities 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.