Cerity Partners LLC Sells 12,367 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cerity Partners LLC trimmed its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 23.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 41,280 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,367 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,499,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Sowell Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $325,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the first quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 2,947 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $321,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.7% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 245,016 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,702,000 after buying an additional 34,986 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 55.0% during the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 35,710 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,892,000 after buying an additional 12,665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OLD Republic International Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the first quarter. OLD Republic International Corp now owns 336,279 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $36,648,000 after buying an additional 3,948 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $1.56 during trading on Friday, hitting $107.76. 2,049,288 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,156,493. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The company has a market cap of $34.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $81.13 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $105.26 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $104.14.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business'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 sale, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.