WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Beaton Management Co. Inc.

Beaton Management Co. Inc. reduced its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,584 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 404 shares during the quarter. Beaton Management Co. Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $729,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the second quarter. Bradley Foster & Sargent Inc. CT now owns 6,047 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $474,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Park National Corp OH raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.9 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $97.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.30. The company has a market capitalization of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The company 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 business’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.