Private Advisor Group LLC Increases Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Private Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 3.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 236,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 8,046 shares during the quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $16,937,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of NEE. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in NextEra Energy by 2.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 42,418,748 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,571,650,000 after acquiring an additional 820,704 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in NextEra Energy by 0.7% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 13,284,785 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,122,963,000 after acquiring an additional 86,758 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in NextEra Energy by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $634,703,000 after acquiring an additional 1,525,436 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $729,559,000 after purchasing an additional 452,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 6,098,200 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $515,481,000 after purchasing an additional 21,400 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE NEE traded up $1.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $71.66. 6,206,431 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 11,129,839. The company has a quick ratio of 0.38, a current ratio of 0.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The stock has a market cap of $147.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1 year low of $53.95 and a 1 year high of $86.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average of $76.59.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts' consensus estimates of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.85% and a net margin of 28.06%. On average, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be paid a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 28th. This is a boost from NextEra Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. NextEra Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at NextEra Energy

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays raised their price target on NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.85.

About NextEra Energy

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.