Cerity Partners LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 264.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 132,944 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 96,515 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in 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. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 58,034 shares of company stock worth $5,725,969. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC remained flat at $101.35 during trading hours on Tuesday. The company's stock had a trading volume of 436,187 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,759. The firm has a market cap of $32.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.78, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $96.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.02. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $101.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

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.