National Pension Service Sells 7,729 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

National Pension Service trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 406,113 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,729 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned 0.13% of WEC Energy Group worth $39,060,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 139.6% during the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,792 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,529,000 after acquiring an additional 17,938 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 69.8% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 54,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,489,000 after acquiring an additional 22,478 shares during the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 335.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 54,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,442,000 after purchasing an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 20.3% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 423,718 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $34,796,000 after purchasing an additional 71,439 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WEC stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.33. 2,452,436 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,160,241. The company's 50-day moving average price is $95.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $87.56. The company has a market cap of $30.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $100.31.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.50%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $94.45.

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.