Thompson Investment Management Inc. Sells 2,254 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Thompson Investment Management Inc. sold 2,254 shares of WEC Energy Group, reducing its holdings by 3.2% to 68,256 shares valued at approximately $7.1 million.
• Director Gale E. Klappa and EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold significant amounts of their shares, with Klappa selling 35,000 shares for $3.88 million, indicating insider selling activity in the company.
• Analysts have set varying price targets for WEC Energy Group, with a recent target ranging from $100.00 to $131.00, reflecting mixed sentiment about the stock's performance.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. cut its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,256 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,254 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $7,112,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $262,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $863,000 after buying an additional 1,257 shares in the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,774 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $302,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 18.2% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 16,829 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,834,000 after acquiring an additional 2,587 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 67,445 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,350,000 after purchasing an additional 1,532 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on WEC. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "buy (b-)" rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $110.70.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,447,317.37. This represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $113.88 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.94 and a twelve month high of $115.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.82, a PEG ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.47. The stock's 50 day moving average is $109.85 and its 200-day moving average is $107.59.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 68.39%.

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.

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