Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Sells 10,027 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. $NEE

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 4.0% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 240,863 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,027 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy comprises approximately 0.9% of Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 21st biggest position. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $18,183,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of NEE. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 213,799,521 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,139,726,000 after purchasing an additional 922,500 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of NextEra Energy by 1.2% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 45,724,229 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,161,774,000 after purchasing an additional 526,996 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the second quarter worth about $2,375,545,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 16,786,728 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,165,896,000 after buying an additional 340,315 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.6% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 16,414,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,139,467,000 after buying an additional 408,198 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE NEE opened at $91.03 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $61.72 and a 1-year high of $95.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $87.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $82.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $189.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67 and a beta of 0.76.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 27th. The utilities provider reported $0.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.53 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $6.50 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $7.07 billion. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 12.18% and a net margin of 24.93%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 20.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.53 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 16th. Investors of record on Friday, February 27th will be given a $0.6232 dividend. This is a boost from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.57. This represents a $2.49 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 27th. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is 75.68%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Ronald R. Reagan sold 18,620 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total value of $1,675,800.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 9,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $867,870. This represents a 65.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Charles E. Sieving sold 30,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.00, for a total transaction of $2,700,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 167,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,073,290. This trade represents a 15.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 159,049 shares of company stock valued at $14,194,542 over the last three months. 0.20% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Argus set a $92.00 price target on NextEra Energy and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Weiss Ratings cut NextEra Energy from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 17th. Barclays increased their target price on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. Seaport Research Partners cut their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $56.00 to $55.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $94.16.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

NextEra Energy, Inc (NYSE: NEE), headquartered in Juno Beach, Florida, is a leading clean energy company with both regulated utility operations and competitive renewable generation businesses. The company’s principal operating subsidiaries include Florida Power & Light Company (FPL), a regulated electric utility serving customers in Florida, and NextEra Energy Resources, which develops, constructs, owns and operates a large portfolio of wind, solar and energy storage projects. Together these businesses provide electricity supply, transmission and distribution services as well as utility-scale renewable generation and related services.

NextEra’s activities cover the full lifecycle of power assets, from project development and construction to operation, maintenance and asset optimization.