Schroder Investment Management Group Buys 2,499,011 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 44.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 8,064,781 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,499,011 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $578,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% in the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 332 shares during the period. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on NEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Guggenheim restated a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $70.44 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.90, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $70.67 and its 200 day moving average is $75.14. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.31 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47.

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%. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 67.06%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate 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.