Meritage Portfolio Management Sells 85,240 Shares of NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI)

Meritage Portfolio Management reduced its position in NiSource Inc. (NYSE:NI - Free Report) by 55.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 68,666 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 85,240 shares during the period. Meritage Portfolio Management's holdings in NiSource were worth $2,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of NiSource by 5.8% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 22,691,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $786,249,000 after buying an additional 1,247,368 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in NiSource by 88.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 14,902,538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $516,373,000 after purchasing an additional 6,991,608 shares during the period. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of NiSource by 0.9% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 11,396,489 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,888,000 after buying an additional 99,882 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of NiSource by 3.0% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 10,823,095 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $375,020,000 after acquiring an additional 316,225 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of NiSource by 1.7% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 10,747,328 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $371,139,000 after purchasing an additional 178,365 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 91.64% of the company's stock.

NiSource Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NI stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $37.88. 3,051,426 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,520,772. The stock has a market cap of $17.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.54. NiSource Inc. has a 12 month low of $24.80 and a 12 month high of $38.83. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $36.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $35.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

NiSource Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.28 per share. This is a positive change from NiSource's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 3rd. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.96%. NiSource's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 67.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

NI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of NiSource in a research report on Monday, October 28th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target on NiSource from $38.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on NiSource from $36.00 to $38.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of NiSource from $35.00 to $38.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus 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.