Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. Sells 244 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 5.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the period. Murphy Middleton Hinkle & Parker Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $410,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Roundview Capital LLC bought a new position in Consolidated Edison in the first quarter valued at about $680,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,030,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $97,579,000 after acquiring an additional 190,138 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in shares of Consolidated Edison by 54.4% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 18,204 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,693,000 after acquiring an additional 6,412 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Consolidated Edison by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 19,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,845,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 1st quarter worth $214,000. 64.53% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 0.1 %

ED stock traded up $0.10 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $91.56. 347,815 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,809,796. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $91.34 and its 200-day moving average is $93.54. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.10 and a 12 month high of $100.92. The company has a market cap of $31.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.16, a PEG ratio of 9.02 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.02 and a quick ratio of 0.95.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.58 by $0.03. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.27% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $2.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.31 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.64 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Consolidated Edison Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 16th will be paid a dividend of $0.81 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 15th. This represents a $3.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio is currently 46.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ED shares. Bank of America cut their target price on Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 16th. Guggenheim decreased their price objective on shares of Consolidated Edison from $90.00 to $85.00 in a report on Friday, July 7th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Consolidated Edison from $95.00 to $88.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 5th. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $70.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Consolidated Edison from $89.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 7th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $89.79.

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 3.6 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.