NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 12.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,147 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,474 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $3,062,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in NEE. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the second quarter worth $25,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Strive Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 7,161 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total transaction of $646,423.47. Following the transaction, the treasurer owned 26,719 shares in the company, valued at $2,411,924.13. This trade represents a 21.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction on Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total transaction of $8,898,532.02. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares in the company, valued at $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 190,816 shares of company stock worth $17,075,619. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.1%

NEE stock opened at $92.95 on Thursday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $95.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The firm has a market cap of $193.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.25 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $91.02 and its 200-day simple moving average is $84.72.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.53 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.NextEra Energy’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.53 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.6232 per share. This represents a $2.49 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 75.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Weiss Ratings cut NextEra Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets set a $95.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, January 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $94.72.

NextEra Energy Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.