13,497 WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Shares Acquired by ProShare Advisors LLC

ProShare Advisors LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 26.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 65,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,497 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,584,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at about $299,100,000. Magellan Asset Management Ltd acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $144,582,000. Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $128,290,000. Energy Income Partners LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $97,564,000. Finally, Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $95,395,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $111.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $108.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 19th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $117.00 price objective (down from $120.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, BTIG Research reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $130.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, nine have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.00.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of WEC opened at $118.14 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $38.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.38 and a beta of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $99.80 and a 12-month high of $119.91. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $106.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $111.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The utilities provider reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.97 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $2.29 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.27 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.54% and a return on equity of 13.49%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 13th will be issued a $0.9525 dividend. This represents a $3.81 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.15%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 980 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.58, for a total transaction of $103,468.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,588 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,068,101.04. This trade represents a 4.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

WEC Energy Group, Inc is an energy holding company headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Through its operating companies, the company generates and delivers electricity and provides natural gas distribution, storage and related energy services to residential, commercial and industrial customers.

WEC Energy’s principal utility businesses include We Energies and Wisconsin Public Service in Wisconsin, Michigan Gas Utilities, Minnesota Energy Resources, Upper Michigan Energy Resources and North Dakota utility operations.