Benjamin Edwards Inc. Has $54.69 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 897.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 511,618 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group makes up 0.8% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc. owned 0.18% of WEC Energy Group worth $54,694,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $101.05 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WEC. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. KeyCorp raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Barclays lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

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.