Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 9,187 Shares of Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG)

Principal Financial Group Inc. decreased its holdings in Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated (NYSE:PEG) by 1.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 593,387 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,187 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.12% of Public Service Enterprise Group worth $50,135,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PEG. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Public Service Enterprise Group by 125.3% in the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 3,384,803 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $285,982,000 after purchasing an additional 1,882,667 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 19.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,401,024 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $481,825,000 after buying an additional 877,345 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 376.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 810,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $72,321,000 after buying an additional 640,485 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 103.6% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 950,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $80,313,000 after buying an additional 483,795 shares during the period. Finally, Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Public Service Enterprise Group by 179.5% in the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 706,884 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $63,061,000 after buying an additional 453,985 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 73.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEG has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $73.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays cut Public Service Enterprise Group from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $88.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Public Service Enterprise Group from $94.00 to $98.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Public Service Enterprise Group in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $88.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Public Service Enterprise Group

In other news, CEO Ralph A. Larossa sold 1,378 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total value of $117,005.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 144,212 shares in the company, valued at $12,245,040.92. The trade was a 0.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Public Service Enterprise Group Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:PEG opened at $84.54 on Friday. Public Service Enterprise Group Incorporated has a 1 year low of $59.29 and a 1 year high of $95.22. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The stock has a market cap of $42.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.64. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $85.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $85.84.

Public Service Enterprise Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. This is a boost from Public Service Enterprise Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.60. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Public Service Enterprise Group’s payout ratio is presently 58.97%.

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.