Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Reduces Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. reduced its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 70.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 153,847 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 359,163 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $16,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $808,000 after buying an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. Clean Yield Group raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 12.6% in the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $94,000 after buying an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,339 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Horizon Investments LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.52 during trading on Friday, reaching $104.92. 1,724,704 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,145,480. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $106.83 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.83. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

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.