Earnest Partners LLC Purchases 206,637 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Earnest Partners LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 11.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $153,372,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total transaction of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at $1,934,932.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $94.61 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $96.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $90.34 and a 200-day moving average of $84.15.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.53%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 72.93%.

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.