Smithfield Trust Co Sells 691 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Smithfield Trust Co trimmed its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 15.1% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,898 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 691 shares during the period. Smithfield Trust Co’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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. Bank of America boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,045 shares of company stock worth $1,038,807. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $100.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The company has a market cap of $31.94 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.60 and its 200 day moving average is $88.72. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $101.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

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.