WASHINGTON TRUST Co Decreases Stock Holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

WASHINGTON TRUST Co cut its stake in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 332,721 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,671 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy comprises approximately 0.9% of WASHINGTON TRUST Co's portfolio, making the stock its 26th biggest position. WASHINGTON TRUST Co's holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $23,853,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 86,758 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,525,436 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 5.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 8,630,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $729,559,000 after buying an additional 452,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 14.3% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 6,809,093 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $575,573,000 after buying an additional 851,873 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $68.37. 12,090,251 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 11,446,257. The company's 50 day moving average price is $70.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $76.77. The firm has a market cap of $140.59 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a current ratio of 0.47 and a quick ratio of 0.38. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS 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, equities analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Investors of record on Friday, February 28th will be issued a $0.5665 dividend. The ex-dividend date 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 3.31%. NextEra Energy's payout ratio is currently 61.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on NEE. Guggenheim increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank raised their target price 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. Evercore ISI dropped their target price 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.