Liberty Capital Management Inc. Invests $239,000 in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Liberty Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 2,486 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth $23,297,000. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 26.0% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 1,283,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $123,494,000 after purchasing an additional 264,654 shares during the period. Finally, AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $20,431,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $98.69 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $31.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.57 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $94.58 and a 200-day simple moving average of $86.33. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $100.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.54, a current ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.