WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Stock: Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Reduces Holdings

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 743,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 26,669 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $74,912,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 972.7% in the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 236 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 214 shares in the last quarter. John Boyer Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Compass Financial Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Silvant Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Paladin Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,068,101.04. The trade was a 4.76% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently commented on WEC. Weiss Ratings raised WEC Energy Group from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Monday. Stephens set a $109.00 price target on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 16th. BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday. Barclays reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $120.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $118.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.2%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $115.50 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $99.80 and a 1-year high of $119.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $106.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $111.53. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.97 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.27 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 13.49%. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 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 Tuesday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 13th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 13th. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group, Inc is an energy holding company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, the company generates and delivers electricity and provides natural gas distribution, storage and related energy services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

WEC Energy’s principal utility businesses include We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service in Wisconsin, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources, Upper Michigan Energy Resources and North Dakota utility operations.