NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Sold by Cwm LLC

CWM LLC lowered its holdings in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 722,092 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,244 shares during the period. CWM LLC owned about 0.15% of NiSource worth $28,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in NiSource by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,124,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NiSource by 10.1% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $785,563,000 after buying an additional 1,965,334 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in NiSource by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,765,000 after buying an additional 700,747 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in NiSource by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in NiSource by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In other news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $37.81, for a total value of $233,590.18. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.42, for a total transaction of $245,468.34. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This trade represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Up 0.3%

NI traded up $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $40.25. 4,516,589 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,145,763. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $39.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $38.88. NiSource, Inc has a 1-year low of $30.22 and a 1-year high of $41.45.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.78%. NiSource's payout ratio is 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, NiSource currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $41.50.

NiSource Profile

NiSource Inc, an energy holding company, operates as a regulated natural gas and electric utility company in the United States. It operates in two segments, Gas Distribution Operations and Electric Operations. The company distributes natural gas to approximately 3.3 million customers through approximately 55,000 miles of distribution main pipeline and the associated individual customer service lines; and 1,000 miles of transmission main pipeline in northern Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Kentucky, and Maryland.