Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Acquires New Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 5,533 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $532,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $216,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $1.11 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $98.70. The company had a trading volume of 1,211,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,157,137. The business's 50 day moving average price is $95.87 and its 200 day moving average price is $87.80. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $31.22 billion, a PE ratio of 23.86, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS 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 issued 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 3.38%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Bank of America lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of 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. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $94.45.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, 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 transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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 SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.