United Asset Strategies Inc. Sells 317 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

United Asset Strategies Inc. reduced its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED) by 4.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 317 shares during the period. United Asset Strategies Inc.’s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $576,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ED. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Consolidated Edison in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $55,000. Finally, Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in shares of Consolidated Edison during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the company. Scotiabank upgraded shares of Consolidated Edison from a “sector underperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI cut shares of Consolidated Edison from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Consolidated Edison in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. They set a “hold” rating and a $108.00 price target for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Consolidated Edison from $99.00 to $92.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.00.

Consolidated Edison Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NYSE ED opened at $94.87 on Tuesday. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 12-month low of $85.85 and a 12-month high of $107.75. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $98.07. 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 cap of $32.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Consolidated Edison Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 19th will be paid a $0.85 dividend. This is a boost from Consolidated Edison’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.83. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 19th. Consolidated Edison’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.52%.

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.