Rockland Trust Co. Trims Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Rockland Trust Co. cut its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 378,961 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,182 shares during the period. NextEra Energy makes up about 1.2% of Rockland Trust Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Rockland Trust Co.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $30,423,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Birch Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Birch Financial Group LLC now owns 12,203 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $980,000 after purchasing an additional 396 shares in the last quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC raised its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Saxony Capital Management LLC now owns 5,419 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $435,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 39.3% in the fourth quarter. Royal Fund Management LLC now owns 31,118 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,498,000 after buying an additional 8,783 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 5.4% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 60,325 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,843,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Motive Wealth Advisors bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $212,000. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John W. Ketchum sold 99,603 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.34, for a total transaction of $8,898,532.02. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 305,933 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,332,054.22. This represents a 24.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Treasurer James Michael May sold 7,161 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.27, for a total transaction of $646,423.47. Following the sale, the treasurer owned 26,719 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,411,924.13. This represents a 21.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 190,816 shares of company stock valued at $17,075,619. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NEE stock opened at $92.81 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.49 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $90.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.66. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $95.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $193.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.21 and a beta of 0.75.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The company had revenue of $6.50 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.07 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 20.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 27th were paid a $0.6232 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 75.68%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on NEE. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Friday, February 20th. Barclays lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Erste Group Bank upgraded NextEra Energy from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. Finally, Argus set a $92.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $94.44.

NextEra Energy Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.