Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. Acquires 989 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 53,348 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 989 shares during the period. Woodley Farra Manion Portfolio Management Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $4,760,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ED. US Bancorp DE raised its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 65,413 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,812,000 after acquiring an additional 376 shares in the last quarter. Chicago Partners Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in Consolidated Edison in the third quarter worth $381,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Consolidated Edison by 2.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 95,927 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,303,000 after purchasing an additional 2,681 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the third quarter valued at $75,000. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Consolidated Edison by 7.0% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 468,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,792,000 after purchasing an additional 30,838 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ED has been the topic of a number of research reports. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $88.00 to $85.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. UBS Group upped their price objective on Consolidated Edison from $105.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $100.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Consolidated Edison from $92.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.50.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

Shares of Consolidated Edison stock opened at $101.45 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.13 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.93. 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 $35.17 billion, a PE ratio of 19.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.39. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52 week low of $85.85 and a 52 week high of $107.75.

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, beating the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $3.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.63 billion. Consolidated Edison had a net margin of 11.93% and a return on equity of 8.62%. As a group, analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be given a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 19th. This is a positive change from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. Consolidated Edison’s payout ratio is 64.89%.

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.