Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Takes $411,000 Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group, purchasing 3,775 shares valued at approximately $411,000.
• WEC Energy Group's stock has seen various ratings from analysts, with JPMorgan Chase upgrading it from "underweight" to "neutral" and Wells Fargo raising its price target from $115 to $124.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, with a dividend yield of 3.2% and a payout ratio of 68.39%.

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 3,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $411,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Marcum Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% in the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $363,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped 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. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.1%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $110.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $35.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.76 and a fifty-two week high of $111.07. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $105.95 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business's revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were 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 approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.

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.