First Manhattan CO. LLC. Lowers Stock Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

First Manhattan CO. LLC. decreased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,893,661 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 203,842 shares during the quarter. First Manhattan CO. LLC. owned approximately 0.09% of NextEra Energy worth $135,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Bellwether Advisors LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Midwest Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company's stock.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $2.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $70.37. The company had a trading volume of 17,324,949 shares, compared to its average volume of 10,763,280. The company's 50 day moving average price is $68.73 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $144.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.69. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $61.72 and a 52-week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.99 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.99. The business had revenue of $6.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.58 billion. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. The company's revenue was up 9.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.91 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th were given a $0.5665 dividend. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio is 84.64%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total transaction of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This trade represents a 7.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on NEE shares. Erste Group Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $102.00 to $97.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an "in-line" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $83.46.

NextEra Energy 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.