WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Trimmed by Confluence Investment Management LLC

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,489,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 20,388 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group comprises about 1.9% of Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Confluence Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $140,119,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Fidelity D & D Bancorp Inc. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $224,000. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 518.8% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 431,103 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,463,000 after purchasing an additional 361,434 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.0% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $66,450,000 after purchasing an additional 6,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 56.6% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,523 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $627,000 after purchasing an additional 2,358 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of WEC stock traded up $0.46 during trading on Thursday, reaching $94.50. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 177,805 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,083,027. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $102.79. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.00 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.77. The company has a market capitalization of $29.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.78%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 87.29%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal 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 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 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.