Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 2,964.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 108,651 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 105,106 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $11,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,872,000 after acquiring an additional 1,819,782 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,970,000. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,128,000 after acquiring an additional 526,014 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $107.76 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $81.45 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock's fifty day moving average is $105.26 and its two-hundred day moving average is $104.38. The company has a market capitalization of $34.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The business 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 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group set a $107.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $106.40.

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.

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