Aviva PLC Grows Position in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Aviva PLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 0.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,636,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,831 shares during the period. Aviva PLC owned 0.08% of NextEra Energy worth $117,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Burkett Financial Services LLC grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 1,229.6% during the 4th quarter. Burkett Financial Services LLC now owns 359 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of NextEra Energy during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in NextEra Energy in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. WealthTrak Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in NextEra Energy in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Luken Investment Analytics LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

NYSE:NEE opened at $66.97 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $70.65 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.73. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $61.31 and a 12 month high of $86.10. The firm has a market cap of $137.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20.

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

NextEra Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 28th were issued a $0.5665 dividend. This is an increase from NextEra Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.52. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 28th. This represents a $2.27 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 67.06%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on NEE. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $95.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on NextEra Energy from $81.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on NextEra Energy from $92.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $89.00 target price on shares of NextEra Energy in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $91.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO James Michael May sold 2,383 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 27,427 shares of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate 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.