Dearborn Partners LLC Cuts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 454,737 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 9,353 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 1.8% of Dearborn Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.14% of WEC Energy Group worth $43,737,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 25.5% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 86,507 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,320,000 after acquiring an additional 17,563 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $619,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 5.9% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 2,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $267,000 after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 15.3% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,621 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,176,000 after acquiring an additional 3,008 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 932.3% in the 3rd quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 33,209 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,194,000 after acquiring an additional 29,992 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE WEC traded up $1.41 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.54. The company had a trading volume of 816,251 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,152,116. The stock has a market cap of $30.86 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $100.31. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $96.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.45.

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.