Inspire Investing LLC Trims Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Inspire Investing LLC trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WECFree Report) by 7.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 207 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $259,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew 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 purchasing an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Tsfg LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.6% in the fourth quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Drake & Associates LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% in the third quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Park National Corp OH grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners lifted its stake 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 period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

Check Out Our Latest Stock Analysis on WEC

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $99.07 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $94.13. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $31.34 billion, a PE ratio of 24.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WECGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

(Free Report)

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.

Featured Stories

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WEC? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WECFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC)

Receive News & Ratings for WEC Energy Group Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for WEC Energy Group and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.