Confluence Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,444,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 45,597 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up about 2.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.46% of WEC Energy Group worth $157,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.
A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,879,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after buying an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,970,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
WEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on 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 upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.13.
Read Our Latest Analysis on WEC Energy Group
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.
WEC Energy Group Stock Performance
NYSE:WEC traded down $0.70 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $106.74. The stock had a trading volume of 377,148 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,127,887. The stock has a market cap of $34.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.98 and a 200 day simple moving average of $102.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.
WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.
WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.
WEC Energy Group Company Profile
(
Free Report)
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.
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