Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Decreases Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 221,642 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 11,263 shares during the quarter. Braun Stacey Associates Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $24,155,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $42,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Sunday, June 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.33.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.7%

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $104.50 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.94 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market cap of $33.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.44%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

About WEC Energy Group

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.