State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Purchases 6,391 Shares of Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX)

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D increased its position in Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) by 19.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,230 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,391 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Middlesex Water were worth $2,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MSEX. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 36.6% in the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 3,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 1,015 shares in the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 3rd quarter worth $308,000. TIAA Trust National Association bought a new position in shares of Middlesex Water in the 3rd quarter worth $242,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 138.3% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 2,903 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $192,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Middlesex Water by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 9,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $619,000 after purchasing an additional 2,411 shares in the last quarter. 79.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Middlesex Water from $69.00 to $59.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 1st.

Insider Transactions at Middlesex Water

In other Middlesex Water news, Director James F. Jr. Cosgrove bought 1,600 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 6th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $51.70 per share, for a total transaction of $82,720.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 9,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $482,981.40. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.86% of the company’s stock.

Middlesex Water Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MSEX opened at $52.00 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $58.47. Middlesex Water has a 1-year low of $45.42 and a 1-year high of $84.38. The stock has a market cap of $926.12 million, a PE ratio of 29.55 and a beta of 0.74.

Middlesex Water (NASDAQ:MSEX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The utilities provider reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.46 by ($0.14). Middlesex Water had a net margin of 18.96% and a return on equity of 7.61%. The company had revenue of $38.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $41.00 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Middlesex Water will post 2.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Middlesex Water Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.325 per share. This represents a $1.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.50%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 14th. Middlesex Water’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.86%.

Middlesex Water Company 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.