Howard Capital Management Inc. Buys 129 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Howard Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 54,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $4,604,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,829,634 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,744,000 after acquiring an additional 49,285 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $481,825,000 after acquiring an additional 877,345 shares during the period. 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. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,951,631 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $263,315,000 after acquiring an additional 19,650 shares during the period. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 5.9% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,637,882 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $235,194,000 after acquiring an additional 147,903 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Public Service Enterprise Group

In related news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of Public Service Enterprise Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total transaction of $114,511.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares in the company, valued at $10,536,332.10. This trade represents a 1.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on PEG. UBS Group increased their price target 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. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank raised their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays downgraded shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $88.83.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG stock opened at $83.82 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 12 month low of $59.29 and a 12 month high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $84.99 and a 200 day moving average price of $85.94. The stock has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.64.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.63 per share. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.92%.

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.