NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Purchased by Treasurer of the State of North Carolina

Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 904,694 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,680 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $64,858,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 205,297,225 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $14,717,758,000 after purchasing an additional 2,090,538 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at about $3,484,197,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 43,778,016 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,129,132,000 after buying an additional 1,359,268 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 4.2% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 588,038 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,630,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $977,191,000 after purchasing an additional 345,999 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 5.7 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $67.75 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.31 and a twelve month high of $86.10. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $70.06 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 is an increase 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 3.34%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on NEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $89.00 price target on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus 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.