Avity Investment Management Inc. Lowers Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Avity Investment Management Inc. cut its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 443,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 63,834 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy accounts for about 2.5% of Avity Investment Management Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th biggest position. Avity Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $31,790,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Acropolis Investment Management LLC increased its stake in NextEra Energy by 114.8% in the 4th quarter. Acropolis Investment Management LLC now owns 2,739 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $196,000 after buying an additional 1,464 shares during the last quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Meridian Financial Partners LLC now owns 23,590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,691,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. increased its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 16.6% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 37,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,712,000 after acquiring an additional 5,377 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 145,522 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,432,000 after acquiring an additional 9,707 shares during the period. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in NextEra Energy by 10.6% during the fourth quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 5,618 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $403,000 after acquiring an additional 538 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 78.72% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Dbs Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, September 27th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $87.15.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total value of $302,808.99. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares in the company, valued at $1,193,401.44. This represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $1.27 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.25. 12,414,799 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 10,087,837. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52-week low of $53.95 and a 52-week high of $86.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $73.79 and a 200 day moving average of $77.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33. The company has a market cap of $142.41 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The business had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $8.11 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.94 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 22nd were given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 60.95%.

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.