Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Acquires 7,274 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 821,719 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,274 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.26% of WEC Energy Group worth $79,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Czech National Bank increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 335.4% during the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 54,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,442,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,985,000 after acquiring an additional 17,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,310,000 after purchasing an additional 7,640 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank upped their target price 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. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of WEC stock traded up $1.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.98. 2,070,246 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,158,016. The company has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.62, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $100.31. The business has a 50 day moving average of $96.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.15. 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 posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.