ING Groep NV Purchases New Stake in Edison International (NYSE:EIX)

ING Groep NV purchased a new stake in shares of Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 54,142 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,715,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in EIX. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in Edison International by 29.8% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 5,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $365,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Edison International by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,563 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $393,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Edison International by 2.9% during the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,460 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $457,000 after buying an additional 183 shares in the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC increased its holdings in Edison International by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 14,743 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in Edison International by 44.9% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 46,263 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,272,000 after purchasing an additional 14,346 shares during the last quarter. 88.95% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on EIX shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Edison International from $89.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Edison International in a report on Thursday, November 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Edison International from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. Argus boosted their price target on Edison International from $82.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 11th. Finally, Bank of America assumed coverage on Edison International in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $88.75.

Insider Activity at Edison International

In other news, VP Adam S. Umanoff sold 25,619 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.05, for a total transaction of $2,127,657.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO J Andrew Murphy sold 23,896 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.45, for a total value of $2,041,913.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 19,850 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,696,182.50. The trade was a 54.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 50,878 shares of company stock worth $4,285,422. 1.03% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Edison International Stock Up 1.9 %

EIX stock traded up $1.55 during trading on Friday, reaching $83.68. The stock had a trading volume of 4,902,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,026,210. The company's 50 day moving average is $84.55 and its two-hundred day moving average is $79.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.96. Edison International has a one year low of $63.15 and a one year high of $88.77. The company has a market capitalization of $32.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 0.92.

Edison International (NYSE:EIX - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.51 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $5.20 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $5.01 billion. Edison International had a net margin of 8.52% and a return on equity of 13.17%. Edison International's revenue was up 10.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Edison International will post 4.95 EPS for the current year.

Edison International Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 31st. Investors of record on Monday, October 7th were paid a $0.78 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, October 7th. This represents a $3.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.73%. Edison International's dividend payout ratio is 91.50%.

About Edison International

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.