NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) Shares Sold by Rice Partnership LLC

Rice Partnership LLC decreased its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 80.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 55,463 shares during the period. Rice Partnership LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $965,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $3,484,197,000. Boston Partners acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter worth $244,169,000. Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $240,269,000. Amundi boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 49.8% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 9,543,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $676,008,000 after purchasing an additional 3,172,405 shares during the period. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 46.7% in the fourth quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 7,910,346 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,093,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517,369 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

NEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $77.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 14th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $94.00 to $84.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 price objective on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $84.55.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NextEra Energy stock traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $73.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,808,049 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,544,402. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $70.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $70.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.45 and a current ratio of 0.55. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10. The stock has a market cap of $151.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.99. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 21.81% and a return on equity of 12.06%. The company had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 16th. Investors of record on Monday, June 2nd were issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 2nd. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.08%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 85.02%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

In related news, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 23,684 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $1,657,880.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 196,817 shares of the company's stock, valued at $13,777,190. This trade represents a 10.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.