WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 578,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,871 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $54,408,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Donaldson Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $36,421,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 24.4% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 1,972,553 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $185,499,000 after purchasing an additional 387,178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $108.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $105.86 and a 200-day moving average of $100.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.32%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WEC. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $104.38.

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.