MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC Cuts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC lowered its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,386 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 163 shares during the period. MPS Loria Financial Planners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $696,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WEC. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 14,040 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 288 shares during the last quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 6,434 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $61,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.4% during the 4th quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,001,000 after buying an additional 1,097 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ING Groep NV lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 98.8% during the 4th quarter. ING Groep NV now owns 12,805 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after buying an additional 6,364 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $104.05 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.50. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $33.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The business’s fifty day moving average is $106.74 and its 200 day moving average is $102.97.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.45%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.59%.

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.