Cerity Partners LLC Acquires 17,750 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 136.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,751 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 17,750 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,588,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the third quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 4,799 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.1% in the fourth quarter. Stonebridge Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,059 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $99,000 after buying an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $837,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blossom Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 3,797 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $306,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America reaffirmed an "underperform" rating and set a $78.00 price target (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and cut their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $86.38.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC stock traded up $1.12 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $81.56. The company had a trading volume of 2,105,556 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,147,364. The company has a market capitalization of $25.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.40. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $79.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.34. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $98.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 79.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business'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 sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.