Magellan Asset Management Ltd Sells 198,150 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 11.9%, selling 198,150 shares and now owns 1,465,204 shares, which is about 1.9% of its portfolio.
• Several hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in WEC Energy Group, with GAMMA Investing LLC growing its position by 12,777.6% in the first quarter.
• WEC Energy Group reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $0.76, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $0.71, alongside a 13.4% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lessened its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 11.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,465,204 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 198,150 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group accounts for approximately 1.9% of Magellan Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned 0.46% of WEC Energy Group worth $159,678,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,872,000 after buying an additional 1,819,782 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after buying an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $567,727,000 after buying an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $556,191,000 after buying an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,970,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 note on Wednesday, June 25th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,516,059.62. This trade represents a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 59,752 shares of company stock valued at $6,610,023. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $110.38 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $106.33 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.75. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $86.76 and a 52 week high of $111.90. The company has a market capitalization of $35.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.42. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 68.39%.

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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