Diversified Trust Co Acquires 378 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Diversified Trust Co raised its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 5,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 378 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $512,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Czech National Bank boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings 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 valued at $2,883,000 after acquiring an additional 10,126 shares in the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,047,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth about $532,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $93.43 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The business’s 50-day moving average is $96.61 and its 200-day moving average is $92.42. The company has a market capitalization of $29.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.84, a P/E/G ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.48.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases 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 $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.82%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 87.29%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Bank of America upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group 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.