Captrust Financial Advisors Boosts Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 26,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares during the quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $207,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,325,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $303,000 after buying an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $107.65 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $107.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $101.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

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.