WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Assetmark Inc.

Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 26,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,276 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,212,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $983,000. Dearborn Partners LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after buying an additional 131,797 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,391,000 after buying an additional 19,867 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $36,059,000 after buying an additional 14,084 shares in the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 72.6% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 129,890 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,933,000 after buying an additional 54,623 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $80.70 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.96 and a 200 day moving average of $81.61. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $93.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.61 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 19th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.29.

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.