WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Allworth Financial LP

Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 534.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 35,934 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 30,269 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,506,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Robbins Farley acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 22.2% during the 3rd quarter. NBC Securities Inc. now owns 830 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $79,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target 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. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. 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 research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

WEC stock opened at $103.10 on Tuesday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $97.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.93. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $76.50 and a 12 month high of $104.01. The company has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. 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 (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given 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 payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by 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.