WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) is Dearborn Partners LLC's 8th Largest Position

Dearborn Partners LLC lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 17.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 377,467 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 79,102 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 2.0% of Dearborn Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 8th biggest holding. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.12% of WEC Energy Group worth $41,136,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $199,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,782 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,970,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,128,000 after purchasing an additional 526,014 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was 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 this link. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.1%

WEC stock traded up $1.21 on Friday, reaching $110.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,367,369 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,816,756. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $105.29. The firm has a market cap of $35.20 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $86.76 and a 12-month high of $111.07.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

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.