Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 3,555,116 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Alliancebernstein L.P. trimmed its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 27.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,192,663 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,555,116 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.45% of NextEra Energy worth $659,022,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC boosted its position in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 4.0 %

Shares of NEE traded down $2.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $69.28. The stock had a trading volume of 8,520,724 shares, compared to its average volume of 11,605,374. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. The firm has a market cap of $142.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $70.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $74.85. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a twelve month low of $61.31 and a twelve month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.27%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Evercore ISI dropped their price target on 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.92.

Insider Activity

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.09, for a total value of $162,258.47. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 27,427 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Company 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.