Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Decreases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 964,150 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 18,749 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $81,152,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $983,000. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,022,000 after buying an additional 131,797 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL boosted its holdings in shares of 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. abrdn plc grew its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Great Lakes Advisors LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $80.67 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $93.37. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $81.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $81.63. The company has a market cap of $25.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.61, a PEG ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.61 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.14%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target 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.