Barclays PLC Has $54.79 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Barclays PLC trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 25.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 569,662 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 194,445 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $54,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 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. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value 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. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently issued reports on WEC. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.91.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $95.86 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.68 and a 200-day moving average of $90.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business 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 $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.72%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

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.