WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC

N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 38,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,659 shares during the quarter. N.E.W. Advisory Services LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,575,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $10,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,538,000. Finally, Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,883,000 after buying an additional 10,126 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $99.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $94.32. The stock has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.48. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. 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 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $98.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % 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 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.

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