Vontobel Holding Ltd. Sells 8,504 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Free Report) by 8.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,735 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,504 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.'s holdings in Eversource Energy were worth $5,884,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ES. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Eversource Energy by 38.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,470,356 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $945,893,000 after buying an additional 4,585,232 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 9,933,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $570,500,000 after acquiring an additional 226,972 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,557,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $547,550,000 after acquiring an additional 517,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC grew its position in Eversource Energy by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 7,352,593 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $422,259,000 after acquiring an additional 333,529 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.99% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Penelope M. Conner sold 2,600 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $166,400.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 10,988 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $703,232. This trade represents a 19.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.41% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on ES. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Eversource Energy from $71.00 to $72.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. restated an "underweight" rating and set a $58.00 target price (down from $69.00) on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Mizuho upped their price target on Eversource Energy from $68.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised Eversource Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $65.67.

Eversource Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ES traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.57. 1,471,270 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,494,896. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.83, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.75. Eversource Energy has a twelve month low of $52.28 and a twelve month high of $69.01. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $63.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $60.40.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.50. The firm had revenue of $4.12 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.65 billion. Eversource Energy had a return on equity of 11.04% and a net margin of 6.63%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 23.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.49 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Eversource Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 15th were given a $0.7525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $3.01 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.66%. Eversource Energy's payout ratio is 129.74%.

About Eversource Energy

Eversource Energy, a public utility holding company, engages in the energy delivery business. The company operates through Electric Distribution, Electric Transmission, Natural Gas Distribution, and Water Distribution segments. It is involved in the transmission and distribution of electricity; solar power facilities; and distribution of natural gas.