Meyer Handelman Co. Sells 19,400 Shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR)

Meyer Handelman Co. trimmed its holdings in shares of Entergy Co. (NYSE:ETR) by 16.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 99,344 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,400 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in Entergy were worth $10,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Entergy by 64.4% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,562,369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,019,000 after purchasing an additional 1,787,977 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Entergy in the fourth quarter worth about $127,675,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Entergy during the 1st quarter valued at about $92,257,000. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Entergy by 25.2% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 3,961,859 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $400,901,000 after acquiring an additional 796,316 shares during the period. Finally, ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its holdings in Entergy by 29.3% in the 4th quarter. ClearBridge Investments Ltd now owns 3,115,468 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $315,254,000 after acquiring an additional 706,059 shares in the last quarter. 88.07% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Entergy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ETR traded down $0.48 on Friday, reaching $105.81. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,571,789 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,698,417. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $104.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $22.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.61, a PEG ratio of 2.01 and a beta of 0.73. Entergy Co. has a 52-week low of $87.10 and a 52-week high of $114.28.

Entergy (NYSE:ETR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The utilities provider reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.44 by ($0.36). The company had revenue of $31.17 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.16 billion. Entergy had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’s revenue was down .5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.14 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Entergy Co. will post 7.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Entergy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 2nd were given a dividend of $1.13 per share. This represents a $4.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 1st. Entergy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 45.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Entergy from $107.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Entergy from $118.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 6th. Royal Bank of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective on shares of Entergy in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Entergy from $122.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on Entergy from $112.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $114.12.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at approximately $235,465.86. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, insider Haley Fisackerly sold 1,500 shares of Entergy stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.23, for a total transaction of $165,345.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 2,479 shares in the company, valued at $273,260.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Reginald T. Jackson sold 9,229 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.71, for a total transaction of $1,003,284.59. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2,166 shares in the company, valued at $235,465.86. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.39% of the company’s stock.

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.