Trillium Asset Management LLC Decreases Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Trillium Asset Management LLC lowered its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 185,417 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,457 shares during the period. Trillium Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $13,293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Howard Capital Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Howard Capital Management Group LLC now owns 299,215 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,293,000 after buying an additional 5,409 shares during the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $406,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 39,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,359,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $183,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 285,590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $24,141,000 after buying an additional 11,971 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NEE opened at $70.63 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $145.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company’s fifty day moving average is $70.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $75.70. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $60.26 and a 1 year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

NEE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI reduced 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. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

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.