Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 453,071 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA decreased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 14.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,634,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 453,071 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group were worth $222,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the 4th quarter worth about $35,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $39,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $54,000. Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Public Service Enterprise Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.10, for a total value of $114,511.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 126,791 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,536,332.10. The trade was a 1.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.19% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PEG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from $85.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. StockNews.com raised shares of Public Service Enterprise Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $98.00 price objective on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, LADENBURG THALM/SH SH lowered Public Service Enterprise Group from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $82.50 target price on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, March 19th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Public Service Enterprise Group currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $89.65.

Public Service Enterprise Group Price Performance

PEG opened at $80.72 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a fifty-two week low of $64.03 and a fifty-two week high of $95.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $83.16 and a 200 day moving average of $86.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market cap of $40.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.60.

Public Service Enterprise Group (NYSE:PEG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by $0.01. Public Service Enterprise Group had a net margin of 19.48% and a return on equity of 10.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.54 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated will post 3.67 EPS for the current year.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $0.63 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 71.19%.

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.