Liberty Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,645 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,645 shares during the period. Liberty Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $2,187,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Narwhal Capital Management grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 11.8% in the third quarter. Narwhal Capital Management now owns 158,353 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $13,386,000 after buying an additional 16,706 shares in the last quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of NextEra Energy by 2.7% in the third quarter. Segment Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,558 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,653,000 after buying an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its holdings in NextEra Energy by 1.9% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 228,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,290,000 after buying an additional 4,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pictet North America Advisors SA lifted its stake in NextEra Energy by 8.9% in the third quarter. Pictet North America Advisors SA now owns 11,250 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $951,000 after acquiring an additional 923 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.72% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at NextEra Energy

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.97, for a total transaction of $50,646.26. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 100 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,697. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Down 0.4 %

NYSE NEE opened at $83.70 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $82.05 and a 200-day moving average of $75.89. The company has a market cap of $171.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.15. NextEra Energy, Inc. has a 1-year low of $50.95 and a 1-year high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The utilities provider reported $0.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.03. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 24.45% and a return on equity of 11.75%. The company had revenue of $6.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $7.29 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.88 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm 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. This represents a $2.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 22nd. NextEra Energy’s dividend payout ratio is presently 56.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $87.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 25th. Bank of America upped their price objective on NextEra Energy from $77.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on NextEra Energy from $83.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Dbs Bank downgraded NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $69.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, June 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.46.

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.