MML Investors Services LLC Has $2.37 Million Stock Holdings in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

MML Investors Services LLC lifted its stake in Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 12.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 64,551 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 7,231 shares during the quarter. MML Investors Services LLC owned 0.08% of Avista worth $2,365,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AVA. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its position in shares of Avista by 2,474.1% in the fourth quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 695 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 668 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Avista by 117.8% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 858 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 464 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Avista by 296.7% during the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 715 shares in the last quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Avista by 45.3% during the 4th quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 1,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in Avista by 43.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,723 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 518 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of AVA stock traded up $0.58 during trading on Friday, hitting $41.81. 539,863 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 573,366. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $40.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $38.33. Avista Co. has a twelve month low of $33.45 and a twelve month high of $43.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. The company had revenue of $517.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. As a group, analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Avista Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.49 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 13th. This represents a $1.96 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.69%. Avista's dividend payout ratio is 86.34%.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other Avista news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of Avista stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $89,047.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.96% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.