John G Ullman & Associates Inc. Sells 1,100 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

John G Ullman & Associates Inc. lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,100 shares during the quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $215,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quilter Plc purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $234,348,000. Achmea Investment Management B.V. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth $27,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. First Manhattan Co. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 102.0% during the fourth quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 303 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Valued Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $81.56 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $79.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.34. The company has a market capitalization of $25.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.33, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $98.80.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 target price (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.38.

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.