NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI) Shares Bought by Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.

Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. grew its holdings in NiSource, Inc (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 21.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 162,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 28,757 shares during the quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $6,497,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 185.0% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 9,244,744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,837,000 after purchasing an additional 6,001,486 shares during the period. Capital International Investors acquired a new stake in NiSource during the fourth quarter worth about $219,977,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at about $195,745,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in NiSource by 49.5% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 8,199,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $301,427,000 after buying an additional 2,714,262 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of NiSource by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 2,459,452 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Guggenheim raised their target price on NiSource from $42.00 to $43.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on NiSource from $43.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 8th. UBS Group upped their price objective on NiSource from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on NiSource from $38.00 to $42.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $41.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Melanie B. Berman sold 6,227 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 28,882 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,138,528.44. This represents a 17.74% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael E. Jesanis sold 6,178 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owned 18,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $701,035.21. This trade represents a 24.99% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 16,405 shares of company stock valued at $631,939. 0.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NiSource Stock Down 1.6%

Shares of NYSE NI traded down $0.65 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.41. The stock had a trading volume of 3,878,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,136,728. The business's 50 day moving average is $39.36 and its 200-day moving average is $38.64. NiSource, Inc has a 52 week low of $28.42 and a 52 week high of $41.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company has a market cap of $18.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.30, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.54.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.32 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.85 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that NiSource, Inc will post 1.91 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be given a $0.28 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.84%. 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.