Guardian Capital LP Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Guardian Capital LP trimmed its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 14.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 78,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 13,137 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,622,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Deutsche Bank AG grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.0% during the third quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,495,925 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $442,697,000 after purchasing an additional 158,652 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,295,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $346,021,000 after acquiring an additional 142,412 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,216,264 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $339,620,000 after acquiring an additional 155,437 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the third quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 3,354,181 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $270,179,000 after purchasing an additional 44,797 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.2% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,851,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $149,148,000 after purchasing an additional 40,603 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays reduced their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $86.29.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, 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 transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly 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 0.44% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.46 on Tuesday, hitting $84.42. 953,534 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,096,846. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $94.19. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $81.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $81.53. The company has a market cap of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company's revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.96%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.

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