Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. Acquires New Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Pacific Capital Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor bought 2,111 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $178,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Forsta AP Fonden raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.6% during the third quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 69,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $5,606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 26,848 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,101,000 after purchasing an additional 517 shares in the last quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. GPS Wealth Strategies Group LLC now owns 3,435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.1% in the third quarter. Cambridge Trust Co. now owns 83,263 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,707,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.4% during the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 91,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,393,000 after buying an additional 2,130 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on WEC. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.29.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded up $1.08 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $84.91. 1,773,128 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,123,135. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $95.70. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.94 and its 200-day moving average price is $81.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.54, a PEG ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.93%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.