WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC Stock Holdings Lowered by Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,496 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,573 shares during the period. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,699,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth approximately $403,372,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.9% in the first quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $567,727,000 after acquiring an additional 1,349,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.6% in the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $556,191,000 after acquiring an additional 726,267 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% in the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,290,000 after acquiring an additional 665,681 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.6% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,519,401 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,564,000 after acquiring an additional 430,269 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock opened at $113.24 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The company has a market capitalization of $36.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.69, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $114.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $109.36 and a two-hundred day moving average of $107.38.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.71 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.170-5.270 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 68.39%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,620 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $111.00, for a total value of $179,820.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 20,360 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,259,960. The trade was a 7.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,258,399.84. The trade was a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Saturday, September 27th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, July 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $109.30.

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.