Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 8.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 609,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 47,181 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.18% of Consolidated Edison worth $54,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on ED. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $85.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Mizuho lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $110.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Consolidated Edison presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $102.40.

Consolidated Edison Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $108.81 on Friday. 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 cap of $37.73 billion, a PE ratio of 20.77, a PEG ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.30. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $99.56 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.56.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. Analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

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

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.