Benjamin Edwards Inc. Trims Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Benjamin Edwards Inc. trimmed its WEC stake by 3.9%, selling 24,477 shares and leaving it with 599,147 shares (about $63.19M), which represents 0.18% of WEC and 0.7% of the firm's portfolio as its 25th largest holding.
• Company insiders sold a net 42,354 shares valued at roughly $4.86M last quarter, including Director Ulice Payne Jr. and VP Mary Beth Straka, materially reducing their individual positions.
• WEC set FY2026 guidance at $5.510–$5.610 EPS, pays a quarterly dividend of $0.9525 (annual $3.81, ~3.2% yield, 78.9% payout ratio), and carries an average analyst rating of "Hold" with a consensus target of $121.94.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 599,147 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 24,477 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group comprises 0.7% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.18% of WEC Energy Group worth $63,193,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Empowered Funds LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 16.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 16,698 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,820,000 after purchasing an additional 2,417 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 41.3% in the 1st quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 26,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,925,000 after purchasing an additional 7,841 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 44,286 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,616,000 after purchasing an additional 3,006 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 477.4% during the 2nd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 333,552 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,756,000 after buying an additional 275,786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 58,364 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,082,000 after buying an additional 4,730 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,450 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.60, for a total value of $166,170.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 20,541 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,353,998.60. This represents a 6.59% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 2,815 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.50, for a total transaction of $325,132.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 4,707 shares in the company, valued at approximately $543,658.50. The trade was a 37.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 42,354 shares of company stock valued at $4,855,505 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $113.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 15th. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $126.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $121.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $127.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, Argus raised WEC Energy Group to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, February 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $121.94.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $117.67 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $112.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The company has a market capitalization of $38.33 billion, a PE ratio of 24.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.50. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $100.61 and a 52-week high of $119.62.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 5th. The utilities provider reported $1.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.54 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.90% and a return on equity of 12.40%. The business's revenue was down 8.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.510-5.610 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, May 14th will be paid a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 78.88%.

WEC Energy Group Profile

WEC Energy Group is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin–based regulated energy holding company whose primary businesses are the generation, transmission and distribution of electricity and the distribution of natural gas. The company operates through a set of utility subsidiaries that provide bundled energy service, customer billing and energy-related programs to residential, commercial and industrial customers. As a regulated utility group, WEC's operations focus on delivering reliable service while managing infrastructure investment and compliance with state and federal utility regulation.

Its utility subsidiaries include well-known regional operators such as We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service, along with Chicago-area natural gas utilities that were part of the Integrys Energy Group acquisition.

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