Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 106,600 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its position in shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.2% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,711,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 106,600 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $398,255,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in NEE. M&G Plc bought a new position in NextEra Energy in the first quarter worth approximately $303,065,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of NextEra Energy by 8,641.5% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 3,861,208 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $326,388,000 after acquiring an additional 3,817,037 shares in the last quarter. Zimmer Partners LP grew its stake in NextEra Energy by 8,447.5% in the first quarter. Zimmer Partners LP now owns 2,735,200 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $174,807,000 after purchasing an additional 2,703,200 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in NextEra Energy by 4,058.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,366,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $200,065,000 after purchasing an additional 2,309,876 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 57.0% in the second quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 5,957,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $421,831,000 after purchasing an additional 2,163,437 shares during the last quarter. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on NextEra Energy from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of NextEra Energy from $91.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.54.

NextEra Energy Price Performance

Shares of NEE stock opened at $75.91 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $81.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.33. The company has a market capitalization of $156.10 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.41 and a quick ratio of 0.33. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 12 month low of $53.81 and a 12 month high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 26.49%. The company had revenue of $7.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.11 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 22nd will be given a $0.515 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 22nd. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.71%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is currently 60.95%.

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.