Principle Wealth Partners LLC Buys 125 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Principle Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,895 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Principle Wealth Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $302,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth approximately $403,372,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of 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 worth $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,290,000 after purchasing an additional 665,681 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.6% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,519,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,564,000 after purchasing an additional 430,269 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 5,829 shares in the company, valued at $643,113.57. The trade was a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several recent research reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, October 16th. They set a “hold” rating and a $125.00 target price on the stock. Cowen started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BTIG Research raised shares of WEC Energy Group to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.83.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $115.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $37.31 billion, a PE ratio of 22.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $111.15 and its 200-day moving average is $108.26. 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, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $118.18.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Investors of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

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.