Groupama Asset Managment Acquires 1,470,613 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Groupama Asset Managment lifted its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 312.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,941,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,470,613 shares during the period. NextEra Energy comprises about 1.0% of Groupama Asset Managment’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Groupama Asset Managment owned 0.09% of NextEra Energy worth $139,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in NEE. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 45,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,267,000 after acquiring an additional 5,831 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,823,327 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $130,714,000 after purchasing an additional 41,328 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 8,833,725 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $634,703,000 after purchasing an additional 1,525,436 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 445,870 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $31,964,000 after purchasing an additional 27,340 shares during the period. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in NextEra Energy by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 171,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,312,000 after purchasing an additional 9,425 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 0.7 %

NextEra Energy stock opened at $70.92 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a current ratio of 0.47. The stock has a market cap of $145.87 billion, a PE ratio of 21.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $70.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.99. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a one year low of $61.31 and a one year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. On average, research analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.5665 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.20%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 67.06%.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on NEE shares. Evercore ISI dropped their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

NextEra Energy Company Profile

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.