Franklin Resources Inc. Has $194.22 Million Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Franklin Resources Inc. reduced its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,298,715 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 339,167 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.46% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $194,218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Center for Financial Planning Inc. increased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 4,126 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Spire Wealth Management grew its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 5,207 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $440,000 after buying an additional 121 shares during the last quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. United Asset Strategies Inc. now owns 4,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $416,000 after buying an additional 127 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 35,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,990,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 10.1% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

PEG opened at $83.26 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $41.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $82.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.11. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $64.03 and a 1-year high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.83 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $0.63 dividend. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.03%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on PEG. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH cut shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

About Public Service Enterprise Group

Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated, through its subsidiaries, operates in electric and gas utility business in the United States. It operates through PSE&G and PSEG Power segments. The PSE&G segment transmits electricity; distributes electricity and natural gas to residential, commercial, and industrial customers; and appliance services and repairs to customers through its service territory, as well as invests in solar generation projects, and energy efficiency and related programs.