NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Sold by Legal & General Group Plc

Legal & General Group Plc decreased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 20.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 15,677,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,013,153 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $1,123,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 7.2 %

NEE stock opened at $66.97 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $137.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50-day moving average of $70.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.59. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.31 and a 52-week 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.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.92.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy 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.