Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC Sells 532 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 4,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 532 shares during the period. Laird Norton Wetherby Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $459,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in 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 last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 59.6% during the fourth quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 4,097 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $385,000 after purchasing an additional 1,530 shares in the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 22.1% during the fourth quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 47,014 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,421,000 after purchasing an additional 8,495 shares in the last quarter. Essex Savings Bank bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $211,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,876,000 after buying an additional 1,123 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 2.6%

WEC stock opened at $104.91 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $106.90 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.13.

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.