Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) Position Lifted by Meeder Asset Management Inc.

Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR - Free Report) by 209.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 39,219 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing 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 Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ETR. Caprock Group LLC raised its stake in Entergy by 10.1% in the third quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 5,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $695,000 after buying an additional 485 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Entergy by 6.9% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 16,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,219,000 after purchasing an additional 1,081 shares during the last quarter. LMR Partners LLP acquired a new position in Entergy in the third quarter valued at approximately $329,000. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. increased its stake in Entergy by 11.0% in the third quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. now owns 190,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,136,000 after purchasing an additional 18,850 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors LP acquired a new stake in Entergy during the third quarter worth approximately $35,104,000. 88.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on ETR shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on Entergy from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. KeyCorp upped their target price on Entergy from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. StockNews.com raised Entergy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, November 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Entergy from $137.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.42.

Insider Activity at Entergy

In other Entergy news, insider Eliecer Viamontes sold 5,166 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total value of $619,920.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 5,117 shares in the company, valued at $614,040. The trade was a 50.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew S. Marsh sold 600 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.03, for a total transaction of $72,018.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 150,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,092,241.93. The trade was a 0.40 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 40,472 shares of company stock worth $5,076,328. Corporate insiders own 0.54% of the company's stock.

Entergy Price Performance

NYSE:ETR traded up $0.56 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $149.83. 1,075,216 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,080. 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's 50-day moving average is $136.12 and its 200-day moving average is $120.78. The stock has a market cap of $32.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.71. Entergy Co. has a 1-year low of $96.15 and a 1-year high of $156.85.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $2.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $3.39 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.46 billion. Entergy had a net margin of 14.83% and a return on equity of 9.53%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.27 EPS. Equities research analysts expect 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 13th will be given a dividend of $1.20 per share. This represents a $4.80 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.20%. This is a boost from Entergy's previous quarterly dividend of $1.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 13th. Entergy's dividend payout ratio is 58.47%.

About Entergy

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.