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

Hartford Investment Management Co. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 19,569 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 249 shares during the quarter. Hartford Investment Management Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares during the period. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,538,000. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after buying an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,689,000 after acquiring an additional 78,580 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 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 Stock Up 1.4 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $103.82 on Friday. 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 $76.13 and a 12-month high of $104.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a PE ratio of 21.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $96.80 and its 200-day moving average is $95.60.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 3.22%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 69.15%.

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.