Thomas Story & Son LLC Lowers Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Thomas Story & Son LLC reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 83,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,055 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 3.3% of Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. Thomas Story & Son LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $7,869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $101.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average of $96.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $95.21.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.28%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

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.