ClearBridge Investments Ltd Has $183.54 Million Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,951,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 85,569 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up approximately 4.8% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $183,544,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $182,765,000 after purchasing an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 897.4% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,694,000 after purchasing an additional 511,618 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. KeyCorp raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $107.50 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $110.19. The firm has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $103.59 and a 200-day moving average of $98.92.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.10 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

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.