Asset Management One Co. Ltd. Sells 67,653 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 24.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 205,981 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 67,653 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd.'s holdings in NiSource were worth $5,469,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of NI. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 41.4% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of NiSource in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. 91.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NiSource Trading Down 0.1 %

NiSource stock traded down $0.04 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $27.26. 6,434,443 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,299,012. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $26.48 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $26.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.40, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $28.95.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $1.42 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. NiSource had a net margin of 12.98% and a return on equity of 10.10%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.50 EPS. Analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be given a $0.265 dividend. This represents a $1.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.89%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. NiSource's payout ratio is currently 72.11%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of NiSource from $28.00 to $29.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of NiSource from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, February 24th.

Insider Activity at NiSource

In related news, SVP Melanie B. Berman sold 11,141 shares of NiSource stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $26.66, for a total value of $297,019.06. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NiSource Company 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.