J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Sells 1,182 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. trimmed its position in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,182 shares during the period. J.W. Cole Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $1,451,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $285,982,000 after acquiring an additional 1,882,667 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after purchasing an additional 877,345 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $72,321,000 after purchasing an additional 640,485 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,313,000 after purchasing an additional 483,795 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after purchasing an additional 453,985 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on PEG shares. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE PEG opened at $83.85 on Tuesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52-week low of $58.96 and a 52-week high of $95.22. The company has a fifty day moving average of $85.18 and a 200-day moving average of $85.78. The company has a market capitalization of $41.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $0.63 dividend. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

Insider Activity

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the company’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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. This represents a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Profile

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.