Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Decreases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 20.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 17,052 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,490 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,603,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,405,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,538,000. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 10,126 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $0.71 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $98.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,898,053 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,829,010. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $96.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.62. The company has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a PE ratio of 23.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company's 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 owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. 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 research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $98.40.

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.