WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Thompson Investment Management Inc.

Thompson Investment Management Inc. lowered its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 69,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 863 shares during the period. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,453,000 after acquiring an additional 105,580 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WEC opened at $101.82 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $102.79. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.11.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.