4,730 Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Acquired by Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC

Key Points

• Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC has acquired 4,730 shares of WEC Energy Group, valued at approximately $493,000, signaling ongoing interest from institutional investors.
• Several firms, including Charles Schwab and JPMorgan Chase, have also increased their stakes in WEC Energy Group, with institutional investors now owning 77.20% of the company's stock.
• The latest research reports show positive forecasts for WEC Energy Group, with analysts raising price targets and assigning ratings ranging from "buy" to "outperform."

Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,730 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $493,000.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at $30,447,317.37. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup assumed 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 for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $118.83.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $115.83 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.28 billion, a PE ratio of 22.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.94 and a 12-month high of $118.18. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $111.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $108.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.