Franklin Resources Inc. Takes Position in National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG)

Franklin Resources Inc. acquired a new position in shares of National Grid plc (NYSE:NGG) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 4,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $316,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NGG. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of National Grid by 77.3% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,989,726 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $277,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,739,566 shares in the last quarter. Merewether Investment Management LP acquired a new position in National Grid during the third quarter worth $66,535,000. Ausbil Investment Management Ltd acquired a new stake in National Grid in the third quarter valued at $62,421,000. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its position in shares of National Grid by 11,704.2% in the second quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 650,060 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,917,000 after buying an additional 644,553 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of National Grid by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 553,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,588,000 after buying an additional 16,610 shares during the last quarter. 4.68% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of National Grid in a research note on Wednesday, October 2nd. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Citigroup cut shares of National Grid from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, National Grid presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy”.

National Grid Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NGG stock opened at $59.42 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $58.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.30, a PEG ratio of 5.49 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.61, a quick ratio of 1.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $62.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.63. National Grid plc has a twelve month low of $55.13 and a twelve month high of $73.40.

National Grid Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, January 14th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $2.4939 dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. National Grid’s dividend payout ratio is presently 41.61%.

National Grid Profile

National Grid plc transmits and distributes electricity and gas. It operates through UK Electricity Transmission, UK Electricity Distribution, UK Electricity System Operator, New England, New York, National Grid Ventures, and Other segments. The UK Electricity Transmission segment provides electricity transmission and construction work services in England and Wales.