Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) Shares Sold by Grimes & Company Inc.

Grimes & Company Inc. decreased its stake in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 2.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 130 shares during the period. Grimes & Company Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ED. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 13.0% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 868 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $78,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 31,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,806,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 142.2% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 126,938 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,351,000 after purchasing an additional 74,538 shares during the period. AXA S.A. boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 37,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,334,000 after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the period. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Consolidated Edison by 5.5% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 709,713 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $63,413,000 after purchasing an additional 36,991 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of ED opened at $90.66 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.95. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a market capitalization of $31.41 billion, a PE ratio of 17.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $85.85 and a 52-week high of $107.75.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 7th. The utilities provider reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.56 by $0.12. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 12.27% and a return on equity of 8.70%. The business had revenue of $4.09 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.02 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be issued a dividend of $0.85 per share. This is an increase from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on ED. Evercore ISI cut shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Barclays cut 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 report on Friday, November 8th. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $103.00 to $116.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.64.

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.