Centiva Capital LP Cuts Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Centiva Capital LP lessened its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 69.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 17,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 39,915 shares during the period. Centiva Capital LP's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $153,372,000 after buying an additional 206,637 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $182,765,000 after buying an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.13 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $98.35. 1,769,365 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,129,253. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $95.55.

Insider Activity

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 transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.