WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stock Position Raised by Assetmark Inc.

Key Points

• Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 11.0%, acquiring an additional 10,493 shares and now holds a total of 105,988 shares valued at approximately $11.55 million.
• WEC Energy Group's stock has received mixed ratings from analysts, with two sell ratings, six hold ratings, and three ratings classified as buy, indicating an average rating of "Hold".
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 3.26%, with a payout ratio currently at 69.59%.

Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 11.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 105,988 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 10,493 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $11,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 363 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $109.26. The stock had a trading volume of 593,301 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,192,773. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.50. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $84.35 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The stock has a market cap of $34.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50 day moving average price is $105.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.05.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.