ABC Arbitrage SA Sells 2,436 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

ABC Arbitrage SA reduced its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 39.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,436 shares during the quarter. ABC Arbitrage SA's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Clearstead Trust LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.2% in the first quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 18,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,070,000 after acquiring an additional 412 shares during the period. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.9% in the first quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 209,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $22,796,000 after acquiring an additional 7,861 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 14.3% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $81,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.2% in the first quarter. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC now owns 18,229 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,987,000 after buying an additional 557 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SPC Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10.1% in the first quarter. SPC Financial Inc. now owns 7,242 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $789,000 after buying an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business'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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,752 shares of company stock valued at $6,610,023 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WEC. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Two equities research analysts have 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock opened at $110.00 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $86.76 and a one year high of $111.90. The company's fifty day moving average price is $106.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $105.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $35.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 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.

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