IHT Wealth Management LLC Sells 337 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

IHT Wealth Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $903,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

WEC stock opened at $108.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.54. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The company has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.