WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lowered its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 6.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 177,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,773 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $16,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,423,000 after acquiring an additional 110,802 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $396,114,000 after purchasing an additional 309,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,863,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $363,350,000 after purchasing an additional 87,711 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $108.96. 2,083,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,908. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.17 and a 200 day moving average of $100.44. The firm has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

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.