WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Epoch Investment Partners Inc. has reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.2%, now holding around 0.16% of the company, worth approximately $56.9 million.
• WEC Energy Group reported a quarterly earnings per share of $0.76, exceeding analysts' expectations of $0.71, with a significant revenue increase of 13.4% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925, equivalent to an annualized dividend of $3.57, representing a yield of 3.3%.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 522,231 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 17,164 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.16% of WEC Energy Group worth $56,913,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.3% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 96,411 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,507,000 after purchasing an additional 305 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $202,000. ICONIQ Capital LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Enterprise Financial Services Corp acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth approximately $216,000. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 11.0% in the 1st quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 13,816 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,506,000 after buying an additional 1,364 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $107.17 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $34.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.42. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $107.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.47. 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 52-week low of $91.89 and a 52-week high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.67 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WEC shares. Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total transaction of $179,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,360 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,259,960. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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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