WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Sold by Earnest Partners LLC

Key Points

• Earnest Partners LLC reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the 1st quarter, selling 38,520 shares, and now holds approximately 1.0% of the company's shares, valued at about $215 million.
• Insider executives at WEC Energy Group, including EVP Molly A. Mulroy and EVP Daniel Krueger, have recently sold significant amounts of shares, indicating a decrease in their ownership positions of around 40.88% and 47.30%, respectively.
• Brokerages have varying outlooks on WEC Energy Group, with a consensus rating of "Hold" and a price target averaging around $106.40, while Wells Fargo & Company raised its target from $115.00 to $124.00.

Earnest Partners LLC lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,977,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 38,520 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up 1.0% of Earnest Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th largest position. Earnest Partners LLC owned 0.62% of WEC Energy Group worth $215,479,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the 1st quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 245 shares during the period. Finally, Creekmur Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% in the 1st quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of WEC traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $106.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,551,785 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,174,486. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.89 and a 12-month high of $111.90. The stock has a market cap of $34.29 billion, a PE ratio of 20.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 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. The company's 50 day moving average is $107.18 and its 200 day moving average is $106.54.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.67 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.4%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total value of $3,875,550.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at approximately $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.