Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Purchases 6,220 Shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its position in shares of Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 223,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,220 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. owned about 0.06% of Eversource Energy worth $12,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 44,609,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,561,936,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387,072 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Eversource Energy by 1.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,539,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,737,990,000 after acquiring an additional 430,587 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new position in Eversource Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $808,783,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Eversource Energy by 2.3% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Eversource Energy by 3.1% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 9,040,171 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $613,233,000 after acquiring an additional 268,588 shares during the period. 79.99% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have issued reports on ES shares. StockNews.com cut Eversource Energy from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Eversource Energy from $72.00 to $69.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Eversource Energy from $52.00 to $47.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Scotiabank lowered their price objective on Eversource Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sector underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating on shares of Eversource Energy in a report on Monday, February 10th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $67.45.

Eversource Energy Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Eversource Energy stock opened at $60.90 on Tuesday. Eversource Energy has a 12-month low of $54.75 and a 12-month high of $69.01. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $60.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $61.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.36, a PEG ratio of 2.35 and a beta of 0.60.

Eversource Energy (NYSE:ES) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $1.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.00 by $0.01. Eversource Energy had a net margin of 6.82% and a return on equity of 10.99%. Analysts predict that Eversource Energy will post 4.75 EPS for the current year.

Eversource Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 4th will be given a $0.7525 dividend. This is a positive change from Eversource Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.72. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 4th. This represents a $3.01 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.94%. Eversource Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 130.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Frederica M. Williams sold 3,092 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.26, for a total value of $192,507.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 22,671 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,411,496.46. This represents a 12.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Jay S. Buth sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.99, for a total value of $61,730.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 24,374 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,535,318.26. The trade was a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.41% of the company’s stock.

Eversource Energy Company Profile

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.