NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE Shares Sold by Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.

Key Points

• Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. by 2.1%, now holding approximately 1,343,746 shares valued at around $95 million.
• Institutional investors own 78.72% of NextEra Energy's stock, with Vanguard Group Inc. and other firms increasing their holdings during the last quarter.
• NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665, representing a 3% yield, with the payout ratio at 79.37%.

Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. lowered its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,343,746 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 28,920 shares during the period. NextEra Energy makes up 1.6% of Tocqueville Asset Management L.P.'s portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Tocqueville Asset Management L.P. owned about 0.07% of NextEra Energy worth $95,258,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Somerset Trust Co boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 5.2% during the 1st quarter. Somerset Trust Co now owns 89,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 4,445 shares in the last quarter. Elyxium Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $783,000. Viking Fund Management LLC boosted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 67.8% during the first quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC now owns 495,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,091,000 after acquiring an additional 200,000 shares during the period. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 385,592 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $27,335,000 after buying an additional 8,472 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 20.7% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 34,681 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,459,000 after acquiring an additional 5,949 shares during the period. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the transaction, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares in the company, valued at $2,143,805. This represents a 7.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,906,561.76. This trade represents a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.1%

Shares of NEE stock traded up $0.8220 on Tuesday, hitting $76.5420. 8,046,120 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 9,502,599. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.63. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $72.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.54. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10.

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

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 28th will be given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.0%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 28th. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 79.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of 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 decreased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $65.00 to $67.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 10th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.42.

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.