Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 2,395 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 200,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,395 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $19,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.2% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT boosted 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 purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH increased 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 purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $93.43 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.61 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.51. The company has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 87.29%.

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.