Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Reduces Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. cut its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 539,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 27,428 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $50,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE WEC opened at $108.22 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a PE ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $105.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $100.21. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 dividend 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 presently 73.91%.

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.