Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Increases Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0%, owning a total of 2,711,074 shares valued at approximately $192.2 million.
• Insider transactions include Treasurer James Michael May and EVP Robert Coffey selling shares, representing decreases in their respective holdings of 7.30% and 22.03%.
• NextEra Energy's stock recently saw price target adjustments from various analysts, with Barclays raising its target from $65 to $67 and UBS lowering it from $94 to $84, reflecting mixed outlooks.

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 1.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,711,074 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 26,937 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC owned 0.13% of NextEra Energy worth $192,188,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 28,282 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,028,000 after acquiring an additional 1,840 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC now owns 4,854 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $348,000 after acquiring an additional 298 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $874,000. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. Arete Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,086 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 2,575 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smith Moore & CO. boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. Smith Moore & CO. now owns 14,076 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,009,000 after acquiring an additional 937 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In related news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total value of $168,717.50. Following the completion of the sale, the treasurer directly owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total value of $538,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This represents a 22.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 33,361 shares of company stock worth $2,365,398. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on NEE shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. UBS Group cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. HSBC cut their price objective on NextEra Energy from $88.00 to $86.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.42.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.9%

NEE stock opened at $70.41 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $144.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.62, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $70.53. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $61.72 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.31% and a net margin of 22.84%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

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.

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