WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Bought by World Investment Advisors

World Investment Advisors boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,087 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,319 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,510,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in 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. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in 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. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $466,451,000 after purchasing an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% in the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $436,298,000 after purchasing an additional 188,057 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $403,372,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total value of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 6,606 shares in the company, valued at $734,190.84. This represents a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 5,960 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.98, for a total value of $661,440.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 274,969 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $30,516,059.62. The trade was a 2.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 22,741 shares of company stock worth $2,523,854 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $112.52 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $111.85 and a 200-day moving average of $108.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $91.94 and a 12-month high of $118.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 68.39%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. UBS Group increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, eight have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.14.

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.