WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Position Cut by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.4% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,801,122 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 25,669 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.57% of WEC Energy Group worth $141,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 265.0% in the fourth quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 10,361 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $872,000 after purchasing an additional 7,522 shares during the period. Truist Financial Corp boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 103,454 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,708,000 after buying an additional 6,731 shares in the last quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 25.2% during the fourth quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the period. Northcape Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $465,000. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 377,963 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $31,813,000 after acquiring an additional 7,764 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company's stock, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company's stock, valued at $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,462 shares of company stock worth $776,608. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.3 %

NYSE WEC traded up $0.26 during trading on Friday, reaching $93.03. 2,328,286 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,182,177. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $93.78. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $84.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $82.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $89.77.

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.

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