WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 26.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 1,395,073 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 491,648 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $131,193,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,765,000 after buying an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 897.4% in the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,694,000 after buying an additional 511,618 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $107.50 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $110.19. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $103.59 and its 200-day moving average is $98.89. The stock has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

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.