Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Lowers Stock Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 21,730 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,223 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $1,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Prestige Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 16,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,423,000 after purchasing an additional 757 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth $73,000. Grantvest Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter worth $215,000. United Services Automobile Association raised its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.3% in the fourth quarter. United Services Automobile Association now owns 11,732 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after acquiring an additional 588 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at $387,000. 73.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.1 %

PEG opened at $81.48 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.48, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $64.03 and a 52 week high of $95.22. The business’s 50 day moving average is $83.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $86.09. The firm has a market cap of $40.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $0.63 dividend. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is 71.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PEG. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Public Service Enterprise Group from $100.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. 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 for the company. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Public Service Enterprise Group presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.