Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Acquires 7,082 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 107.9% in the 1st quarter, bringing its holdings to 13,646 shares worth approximately $1.49 million.
• Insider transactions include director Gale E. Klappa selling 35,000 shares for about $3.88 million, reducing their position by 11.29%.
• WEC Energy Group reported a 13.4% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, hitting $2.01 billion, with earnings per share surpassing analysts' expectations.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 107.9% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,646 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 7,082 shares during the quarter. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $538,112,000 after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first 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 in the last quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,128,000 after buying an additional 526,014 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,815,407 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $358,801,000 after buying an additional 141,393 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.3350 on Wednesday, reaching $108.8150. 2,588,141 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,232,991. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $90.61 and a one year high of $111.90. The company has a market cap of $35.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.85, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a 50-day moving average of $106.70 and a 200-day moving average of $106.22.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The business had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.3%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total transaction of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at $643,113.57. This trade represents a 40.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total transaction of $661,440.80. Following the sale, the director owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $30,516,059.62. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.