Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 47,759 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,584,915 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 47,759 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned approximately 0.50% of WEC Energy Group worth $149,045,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Robbins Farley bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Concord Wealth Partners boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 22.2% in the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $103.10 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $95.93. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.50 and a 1-year high of $104.01.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEC. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was 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 owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % 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.

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.