Vestcor Inc Acquires 4,093 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Vestcor Inc grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 83,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,093 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $8,038,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after buying an additional 10,126 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,047,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $97.11 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.69 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $90.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.68%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.18.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is currently 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.