California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC trimmed its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,996 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 996 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in California Water Service Group were worth $848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,624,310 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $349,034,000 after buying an additional 79,168 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 27.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 5,369,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,288,000 after buying an additional 1,140,204 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.4% during the second quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 2,278,162 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $126,552,000 after buying an additional 9,949 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management SA lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 5.3% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA now owns 1,647,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,798,000 after buying an additional 83,350 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,243,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $65,525,000 after buying an additional 6,948 shares during the period. 79.01% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, VP Robert J. Kuta sold 1,000 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction on Friday, May 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.79, for a total value of $56,790.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 12,916 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $733,499.64. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.97% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

California Water Service Group Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE CWT opened at $56.23 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.15 billion, a PE ratio of 41.96 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day moving average of $57.40 and a 200 day moving average of $59.86. California Water Service Group has a 1 year low of $48.46 and a 1 year high of $66.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.73.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, March 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $200.94 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $180.14 million. California Water Service Group had a net margin of 9.04% and a return on equity of 5.69%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.07 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that California Water Service Group will post 1.84 earnings per share for the current year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 19th. Investors of record on Monday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.26 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 5th. This represents a $1.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.85%. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 77.61%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of California Water Service Group in a research note on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating for the company.

About California Water Service Group

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California Water Service Group is a holding company, which engages in provision of water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, and Hawaii through its wholly-owned subsidiaries. The firm is involved in the production, purchase, storage, treatment, testing, distribution and sale of water for domestic, industrial, public, and irrigation uses, as well as for fire protection.