Leeward Investments LLC MA Sells 4,247 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Leeward Investments LLC MA reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 157,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,247 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,248,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $118,015,000 after purchasing an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 131.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 861,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,379,000 after purchasing an additional 488,917 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,954,000 after purchasing an additional 369,786 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 8,801.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 261,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $22,035,000 after purchasing an additional 258,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 88.9% during the third quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 414,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,374,000 after acquiring an additional 195,025 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.6 %

WEC stock opened at $81.50 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $80.25 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $81.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $97.34. The stock has a market cap of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.64.

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.