Cerity Partners LLC Has $12.79 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 264.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 132,944 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 96,515 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,787,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Czech National Bank lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after buying an additional 224,410 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,047,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Investment Advisers raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 359.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,453,000 after acquiring an additional 90,062 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. 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.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $101.36 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $101.59. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $96.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.02.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.30%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 58,034 shares of company stock worth $5,725,969. Insiders own 0.44% 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.