Focus Partners Wealth Sells 8,094 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Focus Partners Wealth has reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 27.0%, selling 8,094 shares in the first quarter, leaving them with 21,928 shares valued at approximately $2.39 million.
• Insider trading reports reveal that both EVP Daniel Krueger and Director Gale E. Klappa sold significant portions of their holdings, indicating a decrease in ownership of 47.30% and 2.12% respectively.
• WEC Energy Group recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925, contributing to a 3.3% yield, despite facing a downgrade in rating from Goldman Sachs from "neutral" to "sell."

Focus Partners Wealth lessened its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 27.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,928 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 8,094 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,390,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after buying an additional 1,349,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $466,451,000 after buying an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $436,298,000 after buying an additional 188,057 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $403,372,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $110.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 998,655 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,195,804. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $108.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.91. The company has a market capitalization of $35.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.14, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $91.94 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.89.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group 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 completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.