Vanguard Group Inc. Acquires 2,025,193 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 1.0%, holding approximately 10.07% of the company, which is valued at $14.70 billion.
• NextEra Energy announced a quarterly dividend of $0.5665 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 3.2%, with the ex-dividend date set for August 28th.
• The company's latest earnings report revealed an EPS of $1.05, exceeding estimates, but revenue of $6.70 billion fell short of the expected $7.52 billion.

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 1.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 207,322,418 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 2,025,193 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 10.07% of NextEra Energy worth $14,697,086,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bellwether Advisors LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. IMA Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at $35,000. Copia Wealth Management bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 237.7% in the first quarter. CBIZ Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 520 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hughes Financial Services LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter valued at $40,000. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on NEE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. UBS Group lowered their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $86.00 to $82.00 in a research note on Thursday, July 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, June 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $84.42.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded down $0.16 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $72.42. 5,575,056 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,816,330. The stock has a market capitalization of $149.13 billion, a PE ratio of 25.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.63. The business's 50 day moving average is $72.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.36. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.72 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.05 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.01 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.52 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 22.84% and a return on equity of 12.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 28th will be paid a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.1%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is presently 79.37%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other news, Treasurer James Michael May sold 2,177 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.50, for a total transaction of $168,717.50. Following the sale, the treasurer owned 27,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,143,805. The trade was a 7.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Coffey sold 7,500 shares of NextEra Energy stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.84, for a total transaction of $538,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 26,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,906,561.76. The trade was a 22.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.20% of the company's stock.

About NextEra Energy

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.