Baillie Gifford & Co. Decreases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Baillie Gifford & Co. lowered its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 57.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 59,698 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 80,931 shares during the quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,614,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $103.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $97.17 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.03. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.50 and a 52-week high of $104.16. The firm has a market cap of $32.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’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 transaction of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’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 value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.