Fmr LLC Lowers Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

FMR LLC lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 5.1% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,233,340 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 66,256 shares during the quarter. FMR LLC owned approximately 0.39% of WEC Energy Group worth $118,623,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.64 on Thursday, hitting $97.71. The company had a trading volume of 1,445,230 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,126,342. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.63 and a 200-day moving average of $89.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.89, a P/E/G ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 5th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, December 5th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.65%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Scotiabank increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Monday. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.55.

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.