TD Private Client Wealth LLC Grows Position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 299.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 38,272 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 28,685 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC's holdings in NiSource were worth $1,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in NiSource by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 57,793,581 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,124,492,000 after acquiring an additional 2,459,452 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 10.1% in 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 purchasing an additional 1,965,334 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of NiSource by 6.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 700,747 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 6,001,486 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at NiSource

In other NiSource 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,541 shares in the company, valued at approximately $701,035.21. The trade was a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939 over the last quarter. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. 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 note on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE NI traded down $0.04 on Friday, hitting $39.56. 4,008,390 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,135,262. 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 stock has a fifty day moving average price of $39.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $38.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a 52-week low of $29.67 and a 52-week 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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $2.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.85 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.83%. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

About NiSource

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.