BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Increases Stock Position in Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG) by 231.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 306,588 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 214,031 shares during the quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $11,359,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 17,553.7% in the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,425,350 shares of the company’s stock worth $126,156,000 after purchasing an additional 3,405,947 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $97,288,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 271.9% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 1,225,849 shares of the company’s stock worth $45,785,000 after purchasing an additional 896,223 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Essential Utilities by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,992,080 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,045,504,000 after purchasing an additional 823,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in Essential Utilities in the 4th quarter worth approximately $15,097,000. 74.78% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Essential Utilities

In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Essential Utilities news, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.43, for a total transaction of $87,661.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 53,391 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,425.13. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Robert A. Rubin sold 2,023 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $36.56, for a total transaction 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 corporate insiders.

Essential Utilities Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of WTRG stock traded up $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $41.43. 514,223 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,599,772. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.52 and a current ratio of 0.62. Essential Utilities, Inc. has a one year low of $32.07 and a one year high of $43.26. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $37.91 and its 200 day simple moving average is $36.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 0.83.

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 2nd. The company reported $0.73 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.76 by ($0.03). Essential Utilities had a net margin of 29.52% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The business had revenue of $612.07 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $747.44 million. Equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.97 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $44.00 to $43.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, May 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average 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.