V Square Quantitative Management LLC Sells 335 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

V Square Quantitative Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,913 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 335 shares during the period. V Square Quantitative Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after purchasing an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $103.10 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $97.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $95.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.50 and a 1 year high of $104.01. The company has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted 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). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

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.