WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,326 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 12,773 shares during the quarter. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $16,667,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $105,000. Farringdon Capital Ltd. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $884,000. MSH Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $658,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 358.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 430,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $40,504,000 after purchasing an additional 336,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KilterHowling LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $202,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Barclays upgraded shares of 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

WEC opened at $108.22 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $105.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost 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

In related 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 value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % 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 insiders.

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.