Nuance Investments LLC Sells 73,453 Shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA)

Nuance Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of Avista Co. (NYSE:AVA - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 784,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 73,453 shares during the quarter. Avista accounts for about 1.2% of Nuance Investments LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Nuance Investments LLC owned 0.99% of Avista worth $28,752,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Avista by 3.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,260,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $375,855,000 after buying an additional 327,535 shares during the last quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP increased its holdings in Avista by 70.4% during the 4th quarter. RWC Asset Management LLP now owns 538,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $19,726,000 after purchasing an additional 222,500 shares in the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC bought a new position in Avista in the 4th quarter valued at $7,875,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Avista by 16.6% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 1,184,838 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $43,401,000 after purchasing an additional 168,648 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NFJ Investment Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Avista during the third quarter worth $4,963,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.24% of the company's stock.

Avista Trading Up 2.1 %

NYSE:AVA traded up $0.86 on Friday, hitting $40.90. 2,423,822 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 545,550. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.48 and a current ratio of 0.75. Avista Co. has a 52 week low of $33.00 and a 52 week high of $41.01. The company's 50-day moving average price is $38.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $37.76.

Avista (NYSE:AVA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The utilities provider reported $0.84 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.86 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $517.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $487.48 million. Avista had a net margin of 10.24% and a return on equity of 7.83%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Avista Co. will post 2.3 earnings per share for the current year.

Avista Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 26th were paid a $0.49 dividend. This represents a $1.96 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.79%. This is a boost from Avista's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 26th. Avista's payout ratio is presently 86.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on shares of Avista from $40.00 to $39.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th.

Insider Activity at Avista

In other news, VP Scott J. Kinney sold 2,298 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total transaction of $89,047.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 12,539 shares in the company, valued at $485,886.25. The trade was a 15.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.96% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Avista Company Profile

Avista Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an electric and natural gas utility company. It operates in two segments, Avista Utilities and AEL&P. The Avista Utilities segment provides electric distribution and transmission, and natural gas distribution services in parts of eastern Washington and northern Idaho; and natural gas distribution services in parts of northeastern and southwestern Oregon, as well as generates electricity in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, and Montana.