Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. Grows Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sigma Investment Counselors Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 61,259 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the period. Sigma Investment Counselors Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $4,392,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in NextEra Energy by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,571,650,000 after purchasing an additional 820,704 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,284,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,122,963,000 after purchasing an additional 86,758 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $634,703,000 after buying an additional 1,525,436 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,559,000 after buying an additional 452,590 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $515,481,000 after buying an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NEE opened at $71.74 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $70.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.56. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $53.95 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $147.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on NEE shares. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Company 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.