Cohen & Steers Inc. Buys 53,759 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Cohen & Steers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 1.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,262,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 53,759 shares during the period. Cohen & Steers Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of NextEra Energy worth $377,270,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on NEE. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a report 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $65.72 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $135.29 billion, a PE ratio of 19.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.31 and a 1 year high of $86.10. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $69.89 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.78.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were paid a $0.5665 dividend. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,867,504.43. The trade was 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 accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.