Westpac Banking Corp Trims Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Westpac Banking Corp decreased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 22.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 13,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,026 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,301,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 123,560 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $11,542,000 after purchasing an additional 6,565 shares in the last quarter. OneAscent Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $209,000. Huntington National Bank raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 248,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $23,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,805 shares in the last quarter. OV Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 9.2% during the fourth quarter. OV Management LLC now owns 19,212 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,807,000 after purchasing an additional 1,612 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

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WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.29. The stock had a trading volume of 1,160,139 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,117,627. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $104.58 and a 200 day simple moving average of $99.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.45, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

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

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $102.56.

About WEC Energy Group

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.