Clearbridge Investments LLC Sells 145,808 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Clearbridge Investments LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 49.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 148,407 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 145,808 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $12,539,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PEG. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 60,775,030 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,134,882,000 after acquiring an additional 492,517 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,744,000 after purchasing an additional 49,285 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $445,005,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter valued at $376,209,000. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted 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 buying an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. 73.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Public Service Enterprise Group Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:PEG opened at $83.85 on Thursday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $82.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.10. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a one year low of $64.03 and a one year high of $95.22. The firm has a market cap of $41.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60. 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 (NYSE:PEG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.54 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase 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 3.01%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is currently 71.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $82.88, for a total transaction of $114,208.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 221,670 shares in the company, valued at $18,372,009.60. The trade was a 0.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.19% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. 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 objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. Barclays downgraded Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $95.00 to $92.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Company 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.