WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Sold by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 4,520 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $471,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,451,000 after acquiring an additional 33,810 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,298,000 after buying an additional 188,057 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $403,372,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $115.07 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $109.95 and a 200-day moving average of $107.68. The company has a market capitalization of $37.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $115.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. Citigroup began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Friday, October 3rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Weiss Ratings restated a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $112.20.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total transaction of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,447,317.37. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

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.