Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. Has $1.71 Million Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. cut its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,780 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,971 shares during the quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,709,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at $344,000. Blackhawk Capital Partners LLC. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth about $1,527,000. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.8% during the second quarter. Nations Financial Group Inc. IA ADV now owns 16,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,258,000 after acquiring an additional 584 shares during the period. F M Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $272,000. Finally, Blue Chip Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.1% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Chip Partners LLC now owns 3,332 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $261,000 after purchasing an additional 359 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $93.03. 2,328,286 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,182,177. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $84.57 and a 200 day moving average of $82.07. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $93.78.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.59%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,462 shares of company stock valued at $776,608. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Bank of America upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp decreased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four 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 price target of $89.77.

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.