Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Invests $1.81 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 19,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,806,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $362,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,765,000 after acquiring an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.12 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average of $96.60 and a 200-day moving average of $95.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.30%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on 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. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

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