Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Has $5.52 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd trimmed its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 47.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 59,539 shares during the period. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,519,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $118,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 131.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 861,320 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $69,379,000 after purchasing an additional 488,917 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $37,170,000 after purchasing an additional 421,731 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CI Investments Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $29,954,000 after purchasing an additional 369,786 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $80.67. 4,504,766 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,136,664. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $93.37. The company has a market capitalization of $25.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 0.40. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $81.96 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for 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%. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 72.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to an "underweight" rating and lowered their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $86.29.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.