NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 2,430 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

NFJ Investment Group LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 141,878 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,430 shares during the quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,342,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $1,538,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,689,000 after buying an additional 78,580 shares during the period. PFW Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,073,000. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $271,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WEC. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $104.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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 value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, 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. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC traded down $1.22 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $107.17. 229,294 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,143,494. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The stock has a market cap of $34.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.19, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.86 and its 200 day moving average is $100.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

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.