WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Stock Holdings Lifted by Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 27.4% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 41,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,873 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,303,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,451,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,298,000 after acquiring an additional 188,057 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $403,372,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 6th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $112.20.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $116.55 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $91.94 and a 1 year high of $117.20. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $110.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $107.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

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.