CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Trims Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,326 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 12,773 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $16,667,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Alliance increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $303,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of WEC stock traded down $1.22 on Friday, hitting $107.69. The stock had a trading volume of 2,077,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,146,959. The company has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.38.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by 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.