Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 15,871 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 578,559 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 15,871 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned 0.18% of WEC Energy Group worth $54,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.6% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,027,000 after purchasing an additional 2,845 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 238.4% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 12,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,195,000 after buying an additional 8,751 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.9% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $287,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 56.6% in the 3rd quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $627,000 after acquiring an additional 2,358 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of WEC traded up $0.64 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $109.40. 384,835 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,317,315. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $34.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $106.17 and its 200-day moving average is $100.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. 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 research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, 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 research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.