Thompson Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,510 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 944 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $7,684,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,038,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $538,112,000 after purchasing an additional 173,006 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $396,114,000 after purchasing an additional 309,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.4% in the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $370,128,000 after purchasing an additional 526,014 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $105.53 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business’s 50 day moving average is $106.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.74. The company has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.13.

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.