Geode Capital Management LLC Raises Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.51% of WEC Energy Group worth $762,453,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.25 on Thursday, reaching $95.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,680,994 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,113,797. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The stock's 50-day moving average is $97.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $90.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.48, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company's revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Barclays raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $96.91.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.