Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Increases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $56,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 52.6% in the first quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 412 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $98.81 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $94.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $86.43. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 77.14%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

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.