Baird Financial Group Inc. Sells 10,209 Shares of Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED)

Baird Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in Consolidated Edison, Inc. (NYSE:ED - Free Report) by 40.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,860 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,209 shares during the period. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Consolidated Edison were worth $1,326,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,455,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,788,319,000 after acquiring an additional 488,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Consolidated Edison by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,984,022 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $799,684,000 after purchasing an additional 130,234 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Consolidated Edison during the fourth quarter worth $399,824,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Consolidated Edison by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,207,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,458,000 after buying an additional 390,708 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Consolidated Edison by 27.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,721,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $332,090,000 after purchasing an additional 812,885 shares during the last quarter. 66.29% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Consolidated Edison Stock Performance

ED traded up $2.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.31. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,758,878 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,452. Consolidated Edison, Inc. has a 52-week low of $87.28 and a 52-week high of $114.87. The company's fifty day moving average price is $108.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $99.84. The company has a market capitalization of $37.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.93 and a current ratio of 1.01.

Consolidated Edison (NYSE:ED - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $2.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.30 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $4.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.21 billion. Consolidated Edison had a return on equity of 8.62% and a net margin of 11.93%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Consolidated Edison, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Consolidated Edison Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.85 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.26%. Consolidated Edison's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ED has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $94.00 price objective on Consolidated Edison and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on Consolidated Edison from $116.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Consolidated Edison from $103.00 to $114.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 2nd. Evercore ISI lowered Consolidated Edison from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Guggenheim raised their price target on Consolidated Edison from $96.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.36.

Consolidated Edison 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.