DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 253,858 Shares of Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main decreased its holdings in Fortis Inc. (NYSE:FTS - Free Report) by 49.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 259,197 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 253,858 shares during the quarter. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main owned 0.05% of Fortis worth $10,775,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Fortis by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 21,722,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $902,656,000 after purchasing an additional 364,391 shares in the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc. now owns 12,266,121 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $509,425,000 after buying an additional 173,226 shares during the last quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. raised its position in Fortis by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 9,148,037 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $379,614,000 after buying an additional 329,767 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in Fortis by 42.1% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 4,443,333 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $184,878,000 after acquiring an additional 1,316,394 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fortis in the 4th quarter worth $182,242,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.77% of the company's stock.

Fortis Stock Performance

FTS traded down $1.32 during trading on Monday, hitting $46.73. 696,469 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 623,600. Fortis Inc. has a one year low of $38.15 and a one year high of $50.06. The stock's fifty day moving average is $46.50 and its 200 day moving average is $44.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.30. The firm has a market cap of $23.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.94 and a beta of 0.50.

Fortis (NYSE:FTS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.31 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.42 billion. Fortis had a net margin of 14.12% and a return on equity of 7.09%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.93 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Fortis Inc. will post 2.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Fortis Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 16th will be given a $0.4324 dividend. This represents a $1.73 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 16th. Fortis's dividend payout ratio is currently 71.73%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on FTS shares. Desjardins started coverage on shares of Fortis in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Fortis in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Fortis from $69.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Thursday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Fortis currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $72.00.

Fortis Profile

Fortis Inc operates as an electric and gas utility company in Canada, the United States, and the Caribbean countries. It generates, transmits, and distributes electricity to approximately 447,000 retail customers in southeastern Arizona; and 103,000 retail customers in Arizona's Mohave and Santa Cruz counties with an aggregate capacity of 3,408 megawatts (MW), including 68 MW of solar capacity and 250 MV of wind capacity.