Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 16,345 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bessemer Group Inc. decreased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 915,387 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,345 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned 0.29% of WEC Energy Group worth $99,760,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329,574 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,423,000 after buying an additional 110,802 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $538,112,000 after purchasing an additional 173,006 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $396,114,000 after buying an additional 309,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $370,128,000 after purchasing an additional 526,014 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their target price 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and reduced their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.33.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2%

WEC stock traded down $0.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.09. The company had a trading volume of 1,851,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,144,850. The stock has a market cap of $32.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $106.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $103.12.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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 quarter last year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. As a group, equities research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.48%. 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.