Metis Global Partners LLC Sells 569 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Metis Global Partners LLC reduced its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 18,280 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 569 shares during the period. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,539,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Barclays reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on 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. KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Scotiabank lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.29.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

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

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $83.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $80.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $95.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.61 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.98%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

About WEC Energy Group

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.