Ostrum Asset Management Sells 3,602 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Ostrum Asset Management trimmed its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 66,827 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,602 shares during the quarter. Ostrum Asset Management’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,791,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on NEE shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Erste Group Bank raised shares of NextEra Energy to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.15.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $66.29 on Monday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.63 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.14. The firm has a market cap of $136.47 billion, a PE ratio of 19.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

NextEra Energy Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc, through its subsidiaries, generates, transmits, distributes, and sells electric power to retail and wholesale customers in North America. The company generates electricity through wind, solar, nuclear,natural gas, and other clean energy. It also develops, constructs, and operates long-term contracted assets that consists of clean energy solutions, such as renewable generation facilities, battery storage projects, and electric transmission facilities; sells energy commodities; and owns, develops, constructs, manages and operates electric generation facilities in wholesale energy markets.