Bank of Montreal Can Grows Holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 676,249 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 45,448 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $70,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 10,302.6% in the third quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 24,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,546,000 after purchasing an additional 24,211 shares during the period. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 17,683.9% during the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 9,959 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $904,000 after buying an additional 9,903 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 74.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 17,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,557,000 after buying an additional 7,324 shares during the period. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 8.5% in the second quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 65,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,893,000 after acquiring an additional 5,161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 7.0% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 468,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,792,000 after acquiring an additional 30,838 shares during the period. 66.29% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ED has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $104.00 to $99.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI raised Consolidated Edison from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.19.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED opened at $101.72 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $101.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $98.13. The stock has a market cap of $35.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.36. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a one year low of $85.85 and a one year high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.02 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.27%. As a group, research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.33 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $0.83 per share. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 62.52%.

Consolidated Edison Company Profile

Consolidated Edison, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the regulated electric, gas, and steam delivery businesses in the United States. It offers electric services to approximately 3.7 million customers in New York City and Westchester County; gas to approximately 1.1 million customers in Manhattan, the Bronx, parts of Queens, and Westchester County; and steam to approximately 1,530 customers in parts of Manhattan.