JPMorgan Chase & Co. Decreases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,377,337 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 429,023 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $411,645,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after acquiring an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $188,879,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,765,000 after purchasing an additional 695,317 shares during the period. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 897.4% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $54,694,000 after purchasing an additional 511,618 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $36,421,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have commented on WEC. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Finally, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $107.50 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $110.19. The firm has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $98.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.