Cetera Investment Advisers Decreases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 147,466 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,311 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,868,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.8% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $170,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 249,716 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $23,483,000 after acquiring an additional 4,348 shares during the last quarter. Beck Bode LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Beck Bode LLC now owns 171,822 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $16,135,000 after acquiring an additional 14,203 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 575,198 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,095,000 after acquiring an additional 6,569 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $107.65 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $107.08 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.43. 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 released 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. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 69.59%.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.