WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 78,580 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC owned 0.14% of WEC Energy Group worth $42,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $211,000. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 60.1% during the 4th quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 25,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,424,000 after buying an additional 9,676 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 47,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,421,000 after buying an additional 8,495 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rockland Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Rockland Trust Co. now owns 116,795 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,983,000 after buying an additional 2,083 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value 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 $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last ninety days. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.31 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.88. The company had a trading volume of 28,622 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,698. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $96.56 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.84.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.8925 dividend. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

About WEC Energy Group

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.