Motco Sells 6,414 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Motco trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group by 11.8%, selling 6,414 shares, leaving them with a total of 47,773 shares valued at approximately $5.2 million.
• WEC Energy Group declared a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, equating to an annualized yield of 3.26% and a dividend payout ratio of 69.59%.
• Despite positive earnings results showing a 17.5% annual revenue increase, analysts have mixed ratings on the stock, with notable downgrades from firms like Goldman Sachs and Wall Street Zen.

Motco trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,773 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,414 shares during the quarter. Motco's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,206,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $70,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 2,959 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $278,000 after purchasing an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Congress Wealth Management LLC DE purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $938,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the fourth quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 272,427 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $25,619,000 after buying an additional 7,884 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Financial Counselors Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 29.6% in the fourth quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 2,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 622 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 12th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $105.00 to $107.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC traded up $1.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $109.78. 975,768 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,195,940. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $84.35 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $105.77 and a 200 day moving average of $105.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 12.94%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.25%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the sale, the vice president owned 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About WEC Energy Group

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.