Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. Cuts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. has reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 53.8%, decreasing ownership to 9,412 shares worth approximately $1,026,000.
• Despite Atria's reduction, institutional investors still own 77.20% of the company's stock, with notable increases in holdings by Deutsche Bank AG and Nuveen Asset Management LLC.
• WEC Energy Group recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 3.3%, and reported earnings of $0.76 per share, surpassing analysts' estimates.

Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. cut its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 53.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 9,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,982 shares during the quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,026,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the last quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% during the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 138.6% during the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $59,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at approximately $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 70,603 shares of company stock worth $7,813,377. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.50 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $109.93. 2,698,935 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,090,985. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.14 and a 52-week high of $111.90. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.95.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. 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. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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, Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

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.