New York State Common Retirement Fund Sells 11,300 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

New York State Common Retirement Fund reduced its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 136,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,300 shares during the quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,829,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mcdonald Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.8% in the fourth quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 8,657 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $814,000 after purchasing an additional 475 shares during the last quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. BKM Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,180 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,804,000 after buying an additional 1,091 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $61,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 46.1% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 20,394 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,918,000 after acquiring an additional 6,434 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.2% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,675 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $722,000 after acquiring an additional 773 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

NYSE WEC opened at $104.89 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.50 and a 52 week high of $105.29. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $33.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $97.96 and its 200-day moving average price is $96.56.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. 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 note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

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.