Ballentine Partners LLC Increases Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ballentine Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 17.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 5,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 812 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $529,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nicholson Wealth Management Group LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $1,031,000. apricus wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.1% in the third quarter. apricus wealth LLC now owns 22,850 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,198,000 after acquiring an additional 3,335 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,168,000 after purchasing an additional 351,972 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle West Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $247,000. Finally, Romano Brothers AND Company lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Romano Brothers AND Company now owns 9,607 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $924,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. KeyCorp upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of WEC stock opened at $97.19 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $100.31. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $95.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $30.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The firm had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.92 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.44%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.