Argent Trust Co Sells 1,257 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Argent Trust Co decreased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 200,359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,257 shares during the period. Argent Trust Co’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $14,364,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $244,169,000. Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.8% during the 4th quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $676,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,405 shares during the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.7% during the 4th quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,369 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 44.9% in the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 8,064,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $578,164,000 after acquiring an additional 2,499,011 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE NEE traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $67.18. 430,629 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,766,572. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The company’s 50 day moving average is $70.06 and its 200 day moving average is $74.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $138.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.31 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 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, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were 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 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

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.