Jennison Associates LLC Trims Stock Position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Jennison Associates LLC decreased its holdings in shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 21.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,309,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,801,642 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned approximately 2.49% of NiSource worth $273,717,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 4.6% during the third quarter. Mastrapasqua Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,178 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $227,000 after purchasing an additional 402 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. grew its holdings in NiSource by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 8,930 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $237,000 after purchasing an additional 414 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in NiSource by 16.7% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,228 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 463 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in NiSource by 5.4% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 9,187 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $244,000 after buying an additional 470 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spreng Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in NiSource by 4.6% in the third quarter. Spreng Capital Management Inc. now owns 10,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $267,000 after buying an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.64% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on NI shares. Barclays upped 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 the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 23,720 shares in the company, valued at approximately $632,375.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.13% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NiSource Price Performance

NI traded up $0.33 on Monday, hitting $27.91. 3,110,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,242,772. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $22.86 and a 12 month high of $28.95. The business has a 50-day moving average of $26.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $26.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 0.85 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.99, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.49.

NiSource (NYSE:NI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 10.10% and a net margin of 12.98%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.50 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that NiSource Inc. will post 1.71 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NiSource Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 20th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a $0.265 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 29th. This represents a $1.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.80%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.11%.

About NiSource

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.