WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Stake Raised by Gateway Investment Advisers LLC

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $42,689,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Czech National Bank boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $1,538,000. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.31 during trading on Thursday, reaching $95.88. 28,622 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,593,698. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $102.79. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $96.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.84. The firm has a market cap of $30.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released 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. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 5th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 5th were paid a $0.8925 dividend. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $98.40.

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.