Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Acquires 1,260 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,260 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Czech National Bank raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 335.4% in the 1st quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 54,090 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,442,000 after acquiring an additional 41,668 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 19.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,985,000 after buying an additional 17,807 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $18,204,000 after buying an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 35.0% during the 2nd quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,310,000 after buying an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $97.98 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a PE ratio of 23.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $96.15 and a 200-day moving average of $88.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

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.