Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT Sells 893 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT cut its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 111,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 893 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $8,025,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of NEE. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the fourth quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the period. Reston Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC acquired a new stake in NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on NEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on NextEra Energy from $99.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $82.00 to $84.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $84.00 to $79.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on NextEra Energy from $93.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Guggenheim lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, NextEra Energy presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.85.

NextEra Energy Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:NEE opened at $70.12 on Friday. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 52 week low of $53.95 and a 52 week high of $86.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $70.56 and a 200 day moving average of $76.59. 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 capitalization of $144.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.81, a PEG ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.58.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, January 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.53 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $0.53. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 28.06% and a return on equity of 11.85%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 28th will be given a dividend of $0.5665 per share. This represents a $2.27 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.23%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This is a positive change from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is presently 61.13%.

Insider Transactions at NextEra Energy

In other NextEra Energy news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 27,427 shares in the company, valued at $1,867,504.43. This represents a 7.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.