Stonebridge Financial Group LLC Has $2.16 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Stonebridge Financial Group LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.3% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,840 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 42,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,982,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 23,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,188,000 after buying an additional 623 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,000. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,314,000 after buying an additional 1,981 shares during the period. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 5,952 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 563 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.33.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $103.09 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.34 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $103.22. The firm has a market cap of $32.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.10, a PEG ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.50. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.48%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.