Foundations Investment Advisors LLC Acquires 438 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,189 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,146,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,765,000 after acquiring an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $99.07 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. 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 is $96.76 and its 200-day moving average is $94.13. The stock has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.37%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded 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 report on Thursday, January 2nd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $98.40.

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.