WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Deutsche Bank AG

Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 1.81% of WEC Energy Group worth $538,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 6,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Collar Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,124,000. Colonial Trust Co SC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 20,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,954,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.2% in the 4th quarter. CoreCap Advisors LLC now owns 1,306 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 26,902 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,530,000 after purchasing an additional 1,945 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $109.56 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $107.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $101.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.97 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 73.91%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’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 value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.13.

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.