Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 540,704 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,706,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 540,704 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises approximately 0.9% of Bessemer Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 0.37% of NextEra Energy worth $552,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently commented on NEE. Evercore ISI decreased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE NEE opened at $64.10 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.94 billion, a PE ratio of 19.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $70.21 and its 200 day moving average is $74.26. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.31 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its 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 net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. Research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.54%. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

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.