NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Position Lowered by Washington Trust Advisors Inc.

Washington Trust Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 9.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 7,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 727 shares during the period. Washington Trust Advisors Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $505,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,571,650,000 after purchasing an additional 820,704 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 14,523,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,041,210,000 after purchasing an additional 588,038 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,630,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $977,191,000 after purchasing an additional 345,999 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,436 shares during the period. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $729,559,000 after acquiring an additional 452,590 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related 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 transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $70.51 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $70.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $76.16. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $55.26 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.92, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. 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. dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

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.