Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Lowers Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC – Get Rating) by 54.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,823 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 7,000 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $546,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Glassy Mountain Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Cowa LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Richard W. Paul & Associates LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 74.05% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.36, for a total transaction of $141,540.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,503 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,029,023.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $86.71 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $94.40 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.98. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.82 and a 12 month high of $108.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.58 by $0.03. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.10% and a return on equity of 11.60%. The firm had revenue of $2.89 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.90 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.79 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.6 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 12th will be given a dividend of $0.78 per share. This represents a $3.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 11th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.90%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on WEC. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $106.00 to $103.00 in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, May 18th. They set a “sell” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $109.00 to $106.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 19th. Finally, 888 restated a “maintains” rating on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, May 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $100.10.

About WEC Energy Group

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WEC Energy Group, Inc is a holding company, which engages in the generation and distribution of electricity and natural gas. It operates through the following segments: Wisconsin, Illinois, Other States, Electric Transmission, Non-Utility Energy Infrastructure and Corporate & Other. The Wisconsin segment refers to the electric and gas utility operations.