Meeder Asset Management Inc. Has $5.16 Million Stock Position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 209.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 39,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,532 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $5,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 47.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 6,479,044 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $693,260,000 after purchasing an additional 2,075,776 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its position in shares of Entergy by 64.2% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,170,045 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $440,690,000 after purchasing an additional 1,630,057 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 185.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 1,876,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,804,000 after purchasing an additional 1,219,419 shares in the last quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC grew its position in shares of Entergy by 12.4% during the 2nd quarter. Barrow Hanley Mewhinney & Strauss LLC now owns 6,926,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $741,135,000 after purchasing an additional 763,834 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Panagora Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Entergy by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,073,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $114,876,000 after purchasing an additional 506,239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 88.07% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on ETR shares. Bank of America lowered shares of Entergy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $138.00 to $154.00 in a research report on Monday, November 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $131.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Argus upgraded shares of Entergy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 28th. Guggenheim increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Entergy from $119.00 to $144.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Entergy currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Activity

In other Entergy news, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total value of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. This trade represents a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 4,134 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.03, for a total transaction of $616,090.02. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 2,016 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $300,444.48. The trade was a 67.22 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 40,472 shares of company stock valued at $5,076,328. Insiders own 0.54% of the company’s stock.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR opened at $149.20 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $31.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.77, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.59. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $135.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $120.49. Entergy Co. has a one year low of $96.15 and a one year high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $3.39 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.27 EPS. Research analysts predict that Entergy Co. will post 7.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 2nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be paid a dividend of $1.20 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 13th. This represents a $4.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is an increase from Entergy’s previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.47%.

Entergy Company Profile

Entergy Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the production and retail distribution of electricity in the United States. It generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power in portions of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas, including the City of New Orleans; and distributes natural gas.