Ascent Group LLC Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ascent Group LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 15,626 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,652 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $153,372,000 after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,765,000 after acquiring an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $98.21 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.50 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79. The company has a market cap of $31.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.40%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides regulated natural gas and electricity, and renewable and nonregulated renewable energy services in the United States. It operates through Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, and Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure segments.