Gradient Investments LLC Sells 187,654 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Gradient Investments LLC lessened its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE – Get Rating) by 66.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 95,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 187,654 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,001,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. United Bank lifted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 9.8% in the first quarter. United Bank now owns 9,966 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $844,000 after buying an additional 891 shares in the last quarter. LSV Asset Management lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 9.2% during the first quarter. LSV Asset Management now owns 32,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,726,000 after purchasing an additional 2,700 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 11.2% during the first quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 15,731 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,333,000 after purchasing an additional 1,587 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd lifted its position in NextEra Energy by 59.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 878 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 326 shares during the period. Finally, Ergoteles LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the first quarter valued at approximately $793,000. Institutional investors own 76.17% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on NEE. Guggenheim lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $96.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $101.00 to $98.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 30th. Bank of America downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $94.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $110.00 to $100.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, March 2nd. Finally, Credit Suisse Group lowered their target price on NextEra Energy from $89.00 to $85.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 26th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $91.83.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.86 per share, for a total transaction of $74,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,089,996.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other NextEra Energy news, Director Amy B. Lane bought 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 6th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $74.86 per share, for a total transaction of $74,860.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 41,277 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,089,996.22. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Armando Pimentel, Jr. bought 13,200 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 21st. The shares were acquired at an average price of $75.44 per share, for a total transaction of $995,808.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 129,230 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,749,111.20. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have acquired 18,872 shares of company stock worth $1,417,721. 0.38% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NEE stock opened at $75.67 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $150.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.21, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $67.22 and a 52 week high of $91.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $80.31.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 25th. The utilities provider reported $0.51 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.50 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 19.79% and a return on equity of 12.51%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 22.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.41 EPS. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.4675 per share. This represents a $1.87 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.47%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.43. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 89.47%.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

(Get Rating)

NextEra Energy, Inc engages in the provision of renewable energy. It operates through the following segments: FPL and NEER. The FPL segment involves the generation, transmission, distribution, and sale of electric energy in Florida. The NEER segment produces electricity from clean and renewable sources, including wind and solar.