Smith Group Asset Management LLC Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Smith Group Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,440 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,560 shares during the period. Smith Group Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,442,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Horizon Investment Services LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,964.9% during the 1st quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 108,651 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $11,841,000 after buying an additional 105,106 shares during the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $10,333,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 55.0% during the 1st quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 35,710 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,892,000 after buying an additional 12,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OLD Republic International Corp lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. OLD Republic International Corp now owns 336,279 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,648,000 after purchasing an additional 3,948 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $100.00 to $110.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $110.00 to $123.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, October 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $118.83.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Daniel Krueger sold 5,930 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $111.14, for a total transaction of $659,060.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 6,606 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $734,190.84. The trade was a 47.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Molly A. Mulroy sold 4,030 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.33, for a total value of $444,629.90. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 5,829 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $643,113.57. This represents a 40.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock valued at $7,581,132 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.3%

WEC opened at $115.93 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $111.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $108.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $37.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.31 and a beta of 0.47. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $91.94 and a 12 month high of $118.18.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 14th will be issued a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 68.39%.

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.