Westwood Holdings Group Inc. Sells 111,812 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Key Points

• Westwood Holdings Group Inc. reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group by 9.6%, selling 111,812 shares and now holds approximately 1,050,446 shares, which represents 0.9% of its total holdings.
• WEC Energy Group has seen mixed analyst ratings, with upgrades from JPMorgan and Wells Fargo, while Goldman Sachs downgraded it, giving the stock an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $106.40.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.8925 per share, yielding 3.2%, with a payout ratio currently at 68.39%.

Westwood Holdings Group Inc. cut its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 9.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,050,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 111,812 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 0.9% of Westwood Holdings Group Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest holding. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. owned about 0.33% of WEC Energy Group worth $114,478,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Marcum Wealth LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 7,416 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $808,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 14.3% during the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $81,000 after purchasing an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 12.6% during the first quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $94,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $284,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the first quarter. Premier Path Wealth Partners LLC now owns 3,335 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.9%

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.99 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $110.72. The company had a trading volume of 3,079,786 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,009,926. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 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 firm's fifty day moving average is $106.27 and its 200-day moving average is $105.63. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $86.76 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.67 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm 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 $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on WEC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and cut their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. 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. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. UBS Group set a $107.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $106.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 274,969 shares of the company's stock, valued at $30,516,059.62. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company's stock, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 59,752 shares of company stock valued at $6,610,023. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.