Edison International (NYSE:EIX) Shares Acquired by Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX) by 12.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 162,480 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 18,429 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Edison International were worth $11,616,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd raised its position in Edison International by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd now owns 135,099 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $9,658,000 after buying an additional 47,784 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its position in shares of Edison International by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund now owns 13,655 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $976,000 after purchasing an additional 551 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,215,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Edison International by 73.2% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 21,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,509,000 after purchasing an additional 8,922 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Edison International during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,233,000. 88.95% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Edison International Stock Performance

NYSE EIX traded down $0.72 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.05. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 288,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,095,533. Edison International has a 52 week low of $58.82 and a 52 week high of $76.83. The firm has a market cap of $29.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.67 and a beta of 0.95. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $71.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 1.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.04.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 30th. The utilities provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.16 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 6.14% and a return on equity of 12.48%. The business’s revenue was up 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.09 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.92 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Edison International Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 30th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 28th were given a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, March 27th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.10%. Edison International’s dividend payout ratio is currently 136.84%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

EIX has been the topic of several research reports. TheStreet lowered Edison International from a “b” rating to a “c+” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Edison International in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $78.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Edison International from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $72.00 to $86.00 in a research note on Tuesday, May 14th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Edison International from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, March 7th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on shares of Edison International from $72.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $76.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO J Andrew Murphy sold 58,099 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.01, for a total value of $4,358,005.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 19,660 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,474,696.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Edison International Company Profile

Edison International, through its subsidiaries, engages in the generation and distribution of electric power. The company supplies and delivers electricity to approximately 50,000 square mile area of southern California to residential, commercial, industrial, public authorities, agricultural, and other sectors.