Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 193,440 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 12.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,391,475 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 193,440 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 0.44% of WEC Energy Group worth $151,643,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.4% in the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 27,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,970,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Clark Asset Management LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1,462.9% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 46,247 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $5,040,000 after purchasing an additional 43,288 shares during the last quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 42,849 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $4,670,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 14,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE:WEC traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $104.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,033,837 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,150,206. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $105.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $103.47. The company has a market capitalization of $33.35 billion, a PE ratio of 20.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a current ratio of 0.50 and a quick ratio of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 69.59%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business's 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. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price target on 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.33.

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.