Bahl & Gaynor Inc. Sells 81,793 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bahl & Gaynor Inc. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,020,319 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 81,793 shares during the quarter. Bahl & Gaynor Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $85,880,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Dearborn Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% during the fourth quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after purchasing an additional 131,797 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,059,000 after purchasing an additional 14,084 shares in the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,552,000 after purchasing an additional 24,892 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the third quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,582,000 after purchasing an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,855,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $81.49 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $80.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $81.43. The stock has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $97.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays dropped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.64.

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.