Aureus Asset Management LLC Sells 15,550 Shares of NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE)

Aureus Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in NextEra Energy, Inc. (NYSE:NEE) by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 614,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,550 shares during the quarter. NextEra Energy makes up approximately 3.4% of Aureus Asset Management LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Aureus Asset Management LLC’s holdings in NextEra Energy were worth $51,919,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Reston Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in NextEra Energy during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 197.4% during the 2nd quarter. Semmax Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 339 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. grew its holdings in NextEra Energy by 64.0% during the 2nd quarter. Proffitt & Goodson Inc. now owns 369 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Maryland Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in NextEra Energy during the 3rd quarter worth $39,000. 78.72% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on NEE. Dbs Bank lowered shares of NextEra Energy from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, September 27th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of NextEra Energy from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of NextEra Energy from $80.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of NextEra Energy in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $87.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of NextEra Energy from $73.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, NextEra Energy has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Nicole J. Daggs sold 4,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.57, for a total transaction of $302,808.99. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 15,792 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,193,401.44. This trade represents a 20.24 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

NextEra Energy Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:NEE opened at $78.67 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $161.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.57. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $80.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.85. 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 fifty-two week low of $53.95 and a fifty-two week high of $86.10.

NextEra Energy (NYSE:NEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The utilities provider reported $1.03 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.98 by $0.05. NextEra Energy had a net margin of 26.49% and a return on equity of 11.94%. The business had revenue of $7.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $8.11 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.94 EPS. NextEra Energy’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that NextEra Energy, Inc. will post 3.41 earnings per share for the current year.

NextEra Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 16th. Investors of record on Friday, November 22nd will be paid a dividend of $0.515 per share. 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 2.62%. NextEra Energy’s payout ratio is 60.95%.

NextEra Energy 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.