Eastern Bank Buys Shares of 8,234 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Eastern Bank purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund purchased 8,234 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $792,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at $2,639,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at $487,000. Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the 1st quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,283,000 after purchasing an additional 111,134 shares during the last quarter. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 147,650 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,125,000 after purchasing an additional 15,546 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. 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. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $99.53 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $94.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $86.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $100.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a PEG ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Barclays increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.