Rhumbline Advisers Lowers Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Rhumbline Advisers reduced its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 608,252 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 19,954 shares during the quarter. Rhumbline Advisers owned about 0.19% of WEC Energy Group worth $57,200,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the third 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 during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,689,000 after acquiring an additional 78,580 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of 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. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $103.10 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.50 and a 52-week high of $104.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $32.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $97.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.86.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.24%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.15%.

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.