Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 259,978 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,001,600 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 259,978 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.85% of NiSource worth $160,424,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in NI. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in NiSource during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in NiSource by 64.2% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 765 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC increased its stake in NiSource by 44.7% during the 1st quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 1,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 310 shares during the period. Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 105.0% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 1,281 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 656 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter worth approximately $55,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE:NI traded up $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $39.49. The stock had a trading volume of 2,233,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,120,701. The company's 50 day moving average is $39.35 and its 200-day moving average is $38.75. NiSource, Inc has a 12-month low of $28.78 and a 12-month high of $41.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.52. The company has a market cap of $18.59 billion, a PE ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 8.41% and a net margin of 14.67%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.85 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is presently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently commented on NI. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Guggenheim boosted their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

NiSource Company 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.