BNP Paribas Financial Markets Sells 233,285 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

BNP Paribas Financial Markets reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 29.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 560,616 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 233,285 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $53,920,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $101.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.21 and its 200 day moving average is $89.31. The company has a market capitalization of $32.21 billion, a PE ratio of 24.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced 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 return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

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.