Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 402,132 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its stake in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 5,797,297 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 402,132 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in NiSource were worth $213,109,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NI. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in NiSource by 153.2% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 871 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management bought a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of NiSource during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Legacy Investment Solutions LLC bought a new stake in NiSource in the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. Finally, Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in NiSource during the 4th quarter valued at $66,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Gunnar Gode sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.92, for a total transaction of $219,560.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 24,758 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $988,339.36. This trade represents a 18.18 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NI has been the topic of several research reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $39.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat.com, NiSource presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $39.33.

NiSource Stock Performance

Shares of NiSource stock opened at $39.76 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $18.68 billion, a PE ratio of 24.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.50. The company has a 50 day moving average of $38.89 and a 200-day moving average of $36.80. NiSource Inc. has a 1-year low of $26.26 and a 1-year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The utilities provider reported $0.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.54 by ($0.05). NiSource had a net margin of 13.94% and a return on equity of 7.87%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, May 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 30th. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. NiSource’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.14%.

NiSource Company Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.