AE Wealth Management LLC Sells 123,396 Shares of NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI)

AE Wealth Management LLC reduced its position in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 19.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 519,202 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 123,396 shares during the quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC owned 0.11% of NiSource worth $20,815,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Millennium Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of NiSource by 185.0% during the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Capital International Investors purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $219,977,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of NiSource by 49.5% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $301,427,000 after purchasing an additional 2,714,262 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 in the last quarter. 91.64% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other NiSource news, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the director owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at $701,035.21. This represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 28,882 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,138,528.44. This represents 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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Guggenheim increased 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Barclays lifted 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, Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $41.50.

NiSource Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of NI traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $41.93. The stock had a trading volume of 3,956,863 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,120,519. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $39.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $39.07. The company has a current ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource, Inc has a fifty-two week low of $30.53 and a fifty-two week high of $42.23.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.90 by $0.08. NiSource had a net margin of 14.67% and a return on equity of 8.41%. The business had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter last 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 year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.67%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is currently 60.54%.

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.