First Mercantile Trust Co. reduced its stake in shares of Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) by 54.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,749 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,667 shares during the period. First Mercantile Trust Co.’s holdings in Aqua America were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. increased its position in Aqua America by 4.2% in the first quarter. Thompson Davis & CO. Inc. now owns 3,301 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in Aqua America by 1.4% in the first quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 3,892 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in Aqua America by 10.6% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 4,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 431 shares during the last quarter. Barrett Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Aqua America during the second quarter valued at approximately $197,000. Finally, Huntington National Bank increased its position in Aqua America by 6.7% in the second quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 5,950 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $199,000 after buying an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. 50.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.
Shares of Aqua America, Inc. (NYSE:WTR) opened at 33.70 on Tuesday. Aqua America, Inc. has a 52 week low of $28.03 and a 52 week high of $34.41. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a PE ratio of 25.73 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $33.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $32.29.
Aqua America (NYSE:WTR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 2nd. The utilities provider reported $0.34 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.34. Aqua America had a net margin of 28.59% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business had revenue of $203.40 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $208.28 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.33 EPS. Aqua America’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aqua America, Inc. will post $1.36 earnings per share for the current year.
The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a $0.2047 dividend. This represents a $0.82 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.43%. This is a positive change from Aqua America’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.19. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 14th. Aqua America’s payout ratio is currently 58.78%.
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Several research firms have recently commented on WTR. BidaskClub downgraded Aqua America from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 6th. Zacks Investment Research downgraded Aqua America from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 18th. Finally, Northcoast Research began coverage on Aqua America in a research note on Thursday, May 25th. They issued a “neutral” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Aqua America currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $32.25.
In related news, COO Richard Scott Fox sold 5,750 shares of Aqua America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.89, for a total value of $189,117.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 18,788 shares in the company, valued at approximately $617,937.32. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Richard H. Glanton sold 4,200 shares of Aqua America stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $32.83, for a total transaction of $137,886.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 2,207 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $72,455.81. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.
Aqua America Company Profile
Aqua America, Inc is a holding company. The Company is engaged in providing water or wastewater services concentrated in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Texas, Illinois, North Carolina, New Jersey, Indiana and Virginia. The Company is the holding company for its primary subsidiary, Aqua Pennsylvania, Inc Its market-based activities are conducted through Aqua Resources, Inc (Aqua Resources) and Aqua Infrastructure, LLC (Aqua Infrastructure).
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