Great Lakes Advisors LLC Buys 275 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 51,722 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 275 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,864,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,879,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after acquiring an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $104.97 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $110.19. 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 stock’s 50-day moving average price is $100.99 and its 200-day moving average price is $97.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of 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. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

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.