PGGM Investments Sells 8,966 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

PGGM Investments reduced its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 55.1% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 7,314 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,966 shares during the period. PGGM Investments’ holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Beacon Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 2,307.7% during the first quarter. Beacon Capital Management LLC now owns 313 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Tidemark LLC acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 66.29% of the company’s stock.

Consolidated Edison Price Performance

ED traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $100.86. 1,639,164 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,883,682. The company has a market capitalization of $34.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.36, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.34. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.61 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $92.08. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.92 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.46 and a 52-week high of $105.99.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.57 by $0.02. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.70% and a net margin of 12.03%. The company had revenue of $3.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.08 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.83 dividend. This represents a $3.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 63.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Scotiabank reduced their target price on Consolidated Edison from $91.00 to $85.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $109.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Argus upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, June 7th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $97.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, one has issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.81.

About Consolidated Edison

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.