WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 2,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $250,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Procyon Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.4% during the 4th quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 179,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,875,000 after purchasing an additional 4,900 shares in the last quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,586 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Essex Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $211,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $100.23 on Wednesday. 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 $31.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 87.29%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the 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 owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now 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 quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% 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.