106,673 Shares in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI) Bought by Patton Fund Management Inc.

Patton Fund Management Inc. bought a new position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 106,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,277,000.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 2,459,452 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 10.1% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,370,032 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $785,563,000 after buying an additional 1,965,334 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of NiSource by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 11,448,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $419,765,000 after buying an additional 700,747 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased 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 valued at $339,837,000 after buying an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of NiSource by 49.5% in 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 hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 value of $233,590.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,541 shares in the company, valued at $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the company'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 now owns 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. Insiders own 0.24% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Down 0.3%

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $39.25. 4,397,638 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,135,852. NiSource Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $27.83 and a fifty-two week high of $41.45. The stock's 50 day moving average is $39.11 and its 200-day moving average is $38.42. The company has a current ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last announced 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. The company had revenue of $2.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.32 billion. NiSource had a return on equity of 7.87% and a net margin of 13.94%. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.85 EPS. Analysts predict that NiSource Inc. will post 1.91 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 60.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a 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 note on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Guggenheim increased their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

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.