MAI Capital Management Sells 275 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MAI Capital Management trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,724 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 275 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $743,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after buying an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.8% during the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $153,372,000 after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,782,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $139,889,000 after acquiring an additional 61,019 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,355,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $106,385,000 after purchasing an additional 22,026 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $100.97 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.44. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $101.00. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $96.60 and a 200 day moving average of $88.72.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,045 shares of company stock valued at $1,038,807. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group 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.