D.A. Davidson & CO. Sells 498 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

D.A. Davidson & CO. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,752 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 498 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,323,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 151.7% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,168,000 after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10,220.1% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 303,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,192,000 after acquiring an additional 300,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, 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 ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.8 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.05 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. 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 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $102.79. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.33 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during 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%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

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.