Erste Asset Management GmbH Sells 100,500 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lowered its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 34.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 192,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 100,500 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $13,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Howard Capital Management Group LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.1% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 17,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,465,000 after acquiring an additional 358 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter valued at about $406,000. Verus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth about $232,000. Finally, Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Pinnacle Financial Partners Inc now owns 68,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,797,000 after purchasing an additional 302 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on NEE shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE opened at $72.70 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $70.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $58.88 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The company has a market cap of $149.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.12%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 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.