WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Clearbridge Investments LLC

Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,434,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 44,722 shares during the quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC owned 0.45% of WEC Energy Group worth $134,937,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.2% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 201,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $19,350,000 after buying an additional 4,411 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 73,176 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,038,000 after buying an additional 1,367 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.2% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 55,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,311,000 after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the last quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $202,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 11.5% in the 3rd quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,957 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,400,000 after purchasing an additional 2,583 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $107.50 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week 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 firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $103.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $98.94. The company has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a price-to-earnings 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WEC. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 note 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. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was 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.

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.