Advisory Services Network LLC Has $3.16 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 34.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 9,526 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,162,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 763.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $112,164,000 after purchasing an additional 1,178,270 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 131.3% during the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 861,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $69,379,000 after purchasing an additional 488,917 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% during the fourth quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,170,000 after purchasing an additional 421,731 shares during the period. Finally, CI Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,954,000 after buying an additional 369,786 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on 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. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 9th. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $80.70 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $81.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $81.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $93.37. 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 quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.