Private Advisor Group LLC Trims Holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Private Advisor Group LLC reduced its stake in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 5.0% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 84,104 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,437 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $6,198,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PEG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $215,074,000. Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group by 23.6% in the 4th quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. now owns 2,389,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $146,132,000 after purchasing an additional 455,693 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 12.5% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,331,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $142,584,000 after buying an additional 259,694 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 315.2% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 2,206,101 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $162,590,000 after buying an additional 1,674,827 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 73.9% during the 1st quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 1,572,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $104,978,000 after buying an additional 667,773 shares during the period. 73.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PEG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Public Service Enterprise Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 5th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $80.00 to $84.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total value of $1,535,133.02. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,419,476.24. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Public Service Enterprise Group news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.69, for a total value of $111,190.82. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 148,892 shares in the company, valued at $12,014,095.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Tamara Louise Linde sold 19,127 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.26, for a total value of $1,535,133.02. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 67,524 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,419,476.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Performance

NYSE:PEG opened at $80.45 on Tuesday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 52 week low of $53.71 and a 52 week high of $81.89. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $78.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.16. The company has a market cap of $40.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.64 by ($0.01). Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 16.12% and a return on equity of 10.72%. The company had revenue of $2.42 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.70 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Monday, September 9th will be issued a $0.60 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, September 9th. This represents a $2.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 66.48%.

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.