California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) Shares Sold by Raymond James & Associates

Raymond James & Associates lowered its position in California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) by 1.4% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 245,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,490 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates owned about 0.42% of California Water Service Group worth $11,898,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its holdings in California Water Service Group by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 6,661 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 295 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of California Water Service Group by 109.9% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in shares of California Water Service Group by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 69,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,609,000 after buying an additional 442 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its stake in California Water Service Group by 11.5% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 4,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $242,000 after acquiring an additional 481 shares during the period. Finally, Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in California Water Service Group by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 32,828 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,526,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 82.78% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at California Water Service Group

In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of California Water Service Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,222,750.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other California Water Service Group news, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 555 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.33, for a total transaction of $30,153.15. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 22,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,222,750.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Thomas M. Krummel sold 1,654 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.07, for a total value of $82,815.78. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 24,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,210,241.97. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,319 shares of company stock worth $171,743 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of California Water Service Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $50.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, California Water Service Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $53.67.

California Water Service Group Stock Performance

NYSE CWT opened at $53.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.52 and a quick ratio of 0.52. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $51.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $48.99. The company has a market cap of $3.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44 and a beta of 0.47. California Water Service Group has a 1-year low of $43.50 and a 1-year high of $55.15.

California Water Service Group (NYSE:CWT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.42 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $244.30 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $216.25 million. California Water Service Group had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 17.78%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that California Water Service Group will post 3.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

California Water Service Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, August 23rd. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 12th were paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.09%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 12th. California Water Service Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 44.80%.

About California Water Service Group

California Water Service Group, through its subsidiaries, provides water utility and other related services in California, Washington, New Mexico, Hawaii, and Texas. The company 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 services.