Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Essential Utilities, Inc. (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) by 25.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,405 shares of the company's stock after purchasing an additional 23,562 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.'s holdings in Essential Utilities were worth $4,754,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 58,571 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,685,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 15,740 shares of the company's stock valued at $722,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 1.7% in the 1st quarter. United Capital Financial Advisers LLC now owns 14,796 shares of the company's stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 248 shares during the period. Selective Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 42.9% in the 2nd quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,000 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Finally, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its position in shares of Essential Utilities by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 65,412 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,999,000 after acquiring an additional 305 shares during the period. 69.96% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WTRG shares. StockNews.com raised Essential Utilities from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 28th. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities from $45.00 to $52.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Essential Utilities to $53.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price target on shares of Essential Utilities to $44.00 in a report on Thursday, October 20th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.86.

Essential Utilities Trading Down 2.4 %

Essential Utilities (NYSE:WTRG – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 7th. The company reported $0.26 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $434.62 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $376.00 million. Essential Utilities had a net margin of 22.04% and a return on equity of 8.84%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Essential Utilities, Inc. will post 1.78 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Essential Utilities Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 10th will be paid a $0.287 dividend. This represents a $1.15 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 9th. Essential Utilities's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.97%.

Insider Activity at Essential Utilities

In related news, Director Ellen T. Ruff sold 8,560 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.96, for a total value of $410,537.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 26,972 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,293,577.12. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.17% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Essential Utilities

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Essential Utilities, Inc is a holding company, which engages in providing water, wastewater and natural gas services through its subsidiaries. It operates through the Regulated Water and Regulated Natural Gas segments. The Regulated Water segment includes water and wastewater regulated utility companies.

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