IHT Wealth Management LLC Cuts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

IHT Wealth Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 9,602 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 337 shares during the quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $108.96 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.54.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group 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.