Washington Trust Bank Has $324,000 Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Washington Trust Bank decreased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 8.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 394 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $324,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Second Line Capital LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Second Line Capital LLC now owns 3,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 139 shares during the period. Accel Wealth Management grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Accel Wealth Management now owns 8,615 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $618,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. L.M. Kohn & Company raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. L.M. Kohn & Company now owns 15,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,101,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the period. 1ST Source Bank boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. 1ST Source Bank now owns 34,178 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,889,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its position in NextEra Energy by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 1,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of NextEra Energy stock opened at $70.92 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $145.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.30 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $70.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $75.56.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.20%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of a number of research reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About NextEra Energy

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.