Bank of Montreal Can Has $45.61 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 581,335 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 33,102 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $45,612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vantage Financial Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 25.2% in the 4th quarter. Vantage Financial Partners LLC now owns 7,685 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $647,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 93,384 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,860,000 after purchasing an additional 574 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 15.5% in the fourth quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 505,361 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,484,000 after purchasing an additional 67,723 shares during the period. United Services Automobile Association acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $858,000. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 41,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,505,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC 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. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $90.34 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $84.15. The company 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. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $96.65.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Scotiabank increased 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.31.

Insider Activity

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

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.