Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 71,364 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Magellan Asset Management Ltd decreased its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 372,467 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 71,364 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $26,702,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $777,000. DF Dent & Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. DF Dent & Co. Inc. now owns 22,824 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,636,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 452.1% during the 4th quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 368,951 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,450,000 after acquiring an additional 302,125 shares during the last quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $365,000 after buying an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 12.8% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 89,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,451,000 after acquiring an additional 10,195 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $70.46 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.31 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $70.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $74.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on NEE. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

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.