Smith Group Asset Management LLC Makes New $2.63 Million Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Smith Group Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 28,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,633,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $182,765,000 after purchasing an additional 695,317 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.77 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $98.15. 2,358,430 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,970,851. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $96.76 and a 200-day moving average of $94.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target 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. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank increased their price objective 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, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 sale, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.