WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Purchased by Ameriprise Financial Inc.

Key Points

• Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.8%, owning approximately 4.27 million shares valued at $466.45 million.
• WEC Energy Group announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share with a dividend yield of 3.3%, to be paid on September 1st.
• Equities analysts have set varying target prices for WEC Energy Group, with estimates ranging from $99.00 to $124.00, indicating a mixed outlook on the stock.

Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 0.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 33,810 shares during the quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. owned about 1.34% of WEC Energy Group worth $466,451,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $403,372,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,872,000 after purchasing an additional 1,819,782 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in 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 worth $556,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at $30,516,059.62. This represents a 2.12% 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. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were 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 directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.3%

WEC traded up $0.34 on Wednesday, reaching $107.50. 750,463 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,209,205. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $91.89 and a one year high of $111.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market cap of $34.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $107.00 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.3%. 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.