Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) Shares Sold by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. lowered its holdings in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 21.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 28,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,473 shares during the quarter. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $1,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MSEX. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 187.2% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 92,560 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,871,000 after purchasing an additional 60,337 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new position in Middlesex Water in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,025,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Middlesex Water by 1,006.4% in the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 473 shares in the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Middlesex Water during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Middlesex Water by 19.6% during the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 26,921 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,417,000 after acquiring an additional 4,415 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director Dennis W. Doll sold 4,067 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.05, for a total value of $244,223.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 52,112 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,129,325.60. The trade was a 7.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

MSEX stock opened at $63.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.57 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $54.85 and its 200 day moving average price is $59.13. The firm has a market cap of $1.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 0.85. Middlesex Water has a 1 year low of $45.42 and a 1 year high of $70.73.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 28th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.13. Middlesex Water had a return on equity of 9.58% and a net margin of 22.53%. The business had revenue of $47.11 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $45.00 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Middlesex Water will post 2.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 18th were given a $0.34 dividend. This represents a $1.36 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 18th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio is presently 55.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MSEX has been the subject of several research reports. Baird R W raised Middlesex Water from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded Middlesex Water from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Bank of America assumed coverage on shares of Middlesex Water in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. They issued an “underperform” rating and a $56.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Middlesex Water from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, March 3rd.

Middlesex Water Profile

Middlesex Water Company owns and operates regulated water utility and wastewater systems. It operates in Regulated and Non-Regulated segments. The Regulated segment collects, treats, and distributes water on a retail and wholesale basis to residential, commercial, industrial, and fire protection customers, as well as provides regulated wastewater systems in New Jersey and Delaware.