Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC Has $2.41 Million Stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC lowered its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 75.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 33,565 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 101,932 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,406,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,267,000 after purchasing an additional 5,831 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,714,000 after buying an additional 41,328 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $634,703,000 after buying an additional 1,525,436 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,964,000 after acquiring an additional 27,340 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.8% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,312,000 after acquiring an additional 9,425 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of NEE opened at $71.17 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $146.40 billion, a PE ratio of 21.12, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.29 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.55 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.63.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on NEE. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Company 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.