Soroban Capital Partners LP Has $108 Million Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Soroban Capital Partners LP decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 25.7% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,148,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 398,251 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 1.4% of Soroban Capital Partners LP’s holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Soroban Capital Partners LP’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $108,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.13.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of WEC stock opened at $106.50 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.92 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $101.75.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a boost 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 3.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

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.