WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Vanguard Group Inc.

Vanguard Group Inc. trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 39,683,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 74,068 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.13% of WEC Energy Group worth $3,731,883,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $52,000. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the period. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $59,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WEC. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $105.85 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The company has a market cap of $33.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $102.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $98.63. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $110.19.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released 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). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue 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.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group 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.