Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 3,648 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

Corient Private Wealth LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 15.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 19,942 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,648 shares during the quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned about 0.11% of Middlesex Water worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MSEX. Victory Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Middlesex Water during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $230,000. Intech Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Middlesex Water during the third quarter worth approximately $271,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Middlesex Water by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,913,000 after acquiring an additional 6,844 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Middlesex Water by 13.6% in the 3rd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 20,245 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after acquiring an additional 2,429 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its position in shares of Middlesex Water by 9.7% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $458,000 after acquiring an additional 618 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.52% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total transaction of $244,223.35. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MSEX opened at $61.53 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $1.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.75, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. Middlesex Water has a 12 month low of $45.42 and a 12 month high of $70.73. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $54.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.10.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a net margin of 22.53% and a return on equity of 9.58%. The business had revenue of $47.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $45.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a dividend of $0.34 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.21%. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is currently 55.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MSEX has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America initiated coverage on Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price target on the stock. Baird R W raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Robert W. Baird raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 19th.

Middlesex Water Profile

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.