Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Shares Sold by California Public Employees Retirement System

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,647,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,710 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $147,015,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ED. United Bank acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the third quarter worth $227,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 242,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,263,000 after buying an additional 1,507 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 11,142 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,160,000 after buying an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,268,424 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $132,081,000 after acquiring an additional 572,530 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Townsquare Capital LLC raised its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.4% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,574 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $580,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

NYSE ED opened at $108.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.01 and a quick ratio of 0.93. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 1-year low of $87.28 and a 1-year high of $109.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.77, a P/E/G ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $98.47.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.63 billion. Equities analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th were given a $0.85 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.12%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.89%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ED. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, February 24th. Evercore ISI lowered shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Consolidated Edison currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $102.40.

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.