Jennison Associates LLC Sells 102,916 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its holdings in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 1.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,720,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 102,916 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 2.30% of NiSource worth $394,074,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its holdings in NiSource by 5.8% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $786,249,000 after purchasing an additional 1,247,368 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its holdings in NiSource by 0.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $394,888,000 after purchasing an additional 99,882 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 1.7% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $371,139,000 after buying an additional 178,365 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in shares of NiSource by 53.3% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,124,909 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $176,194,000 after buying an additional 1,782,078 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Stock Performance

NiSource stock traded up $0.08 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $38.19. 2,259,751 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,654,731. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.54. The business has a 50 day moving average of $36.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $34.98. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.46 and a quick ratio of 0.35.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Investors of record on Monday, February 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is an increase from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio is 64.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

NI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of NiSource in a report on Monday, October 28th. They set a "buy" rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on shares of NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $37.50.

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.