Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. Sells 1,893 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. decreased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 10.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 15,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,893 shares during the quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,313,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Portside Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the period. Blossom Wealth Management increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Blossom Wealth Management now owns 3,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $306,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $321,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the last quarter. Finally, D.A. Davidson & CO. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $81.97 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $79.97 and its 200 day moving average is $81.41. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $98.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The company has a market cap of $25.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.