WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 11.7% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,365,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 142,666 shares during the quarter. WEC Energy Group accounts for approximately 1.5% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest position. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $131,368,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd 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. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:WEC opened at $97.09 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.74, a PEG ratio of 2.63 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. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $97.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.97.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. 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 research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average 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.