Edgestream Partners L.P. Reduces Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Edgestream Partners L.P. trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 93.7% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,143 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 61,322 shares during the quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the third 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 in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $56,168,000 after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $97.09 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.80. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Barclays lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised 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 report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Scotiabank raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Three investment 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, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $95.55.

WEC Energy Group 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.