Baillie Gifford & Co. Sells 80,931 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Baillie Gifford & Co. cut its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 57.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 59,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 80,931 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,614,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in 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. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $762,453,000 after buying an additional 105,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC traded up $0.51 on Friday, hitting $104.04. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,969,450 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,252,858. The company has a market capitalization of $32.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.54, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.50 and a fifty-two week high of $104.98. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $96.39.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.21%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEC. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $101.88.

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.