Brighton Jones LLC Buys New Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,244 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $216,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd 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. Drake & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Bank of America increased their price target 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 research note on Friday, August 9th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $97.19 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $95.12 and a 200-day moving average of $86.62. 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 twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $100.31. The firm has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.44%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. 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 William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

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.