Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 14,273 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Victory Capital Management Inc. decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 395,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,273 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $37,213,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Coastline Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $52,000. Bank of Jackson Hole Trust purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $59,000. Finally, Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $61,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $106.89 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $33.76 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $108.87. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $97.58.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.