Associated Banc Corp Sells 620 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Associated Banc Corp reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,169 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 620 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,897,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 30.9% during the third quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 5,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $513,000 after purchasing an additional 1,260 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.5% during the third quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 20,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,966,000 after purchasing an additional 871 shares during the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 15.3% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 22,621 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,176,000 after purchasing an additional 3,008 shares during the last quarter. ING Groep NV bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $619,000. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 25.5% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 86,507 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $8,320,000 after purchasing an additional 17,563 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $106.89 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $33.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.13, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $110.19. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $98.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. KeyCorp upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

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.