Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Buys 2,803 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 62.9%, acquiring an additional 2,803 shares, bringing its total holdings to 7,260 shares valued at approximately $791,000.
• WEC Energy Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 to be paid on September 1st, with a current annualized dividend yield of 3.3% and a payout ratio of 68.39%.
• WEC Energy Group reported earnings of $0.76 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations of $0.71, with a revenue of $2.01 billion, a 13.4% increase year-over-year.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 62.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,260 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,803 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $791,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 107.9% in the first quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. now owns 13,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,487,000 after acquiring an additional 7,082 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 20.5% during the first quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 9,818 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,070,000 after buying an additional 1,673 shares during the period. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 83.6% during the first quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $126,000 after buying an additional 526 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 364,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $39,741,000 after buying an additional 4,519 shares during the period. Finally, MSH Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 11.4% during the first quarter. MSH Capital Advisors LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 794 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This trade represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $108.8150 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $106.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $106.24. 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 firm has a market cap of $35.02 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $90.61 and a 1 year high of $111.90.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on WEC. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.

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