Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Decreases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 27.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,000 shares during the quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,116,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $444,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $99,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blossom Wealth Management grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% during the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 3,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $306,000 after purchasing an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded down $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.22. The stock had a trading volume of 1,231,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,277,917. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $99.26. The stock's 50 day moving average is $79.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $25.62 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group's revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $94.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Bank of America restated an "underperform" rating and issued a $78.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.17.

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.