Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC Trims Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lessened its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,648 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 126 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 34.9% during the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,213,304 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $567,727,000 after purchasing an additional 1,349,522 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the period. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 4,274,385 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $466,451,000 after purchasing an additional 33,810 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.9% during the 1st quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,003,464 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $436,298,000 after purchasing an additional 188,057 shares during the period. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter valued at about $403,372,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group cut WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research report on Wednesday, June 25th. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, October 4th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Friday, October 3rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $131.00 price objective on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $112.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total value of $1,023,533.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 56,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This represents a 14.06% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 35,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.73, for a total value of $3,875,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 274,969 shares in the company, valued at $30,447,317.37. This trade represents a 11.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 68,448 shares of company stock worth $7,581,132 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $115.07 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $109.95 and its 200-day moving average price is $107.66. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $91.94 and a 52 week high of $115.90. The stock has a market cap of $37.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.47.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.90% and a net margin of 17.87%.The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th were given a $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 14th. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.1%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 68.39%.

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.