Alpha Cubed Investments LLC Sells 146 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Alpha Cubed Investments LLC lowered its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,770 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the period. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $374,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 136.5% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 30,751 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,588,000 after purchasing an additional 17,750 shares in the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $278,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $201,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,608,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. KeyCorp dropped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $95.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Scotiabank lowered their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given 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 $87.31.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.15 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $89.09. The stock had a trading volume of 571,942 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,174,689. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $92.23. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.14 billion, a PE ratio of 19.35, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $81.49 and its 200 day moving average is $81.01.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.87 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.92 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.75%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,462 shares of company stock valued at $218,668 over the last 90 days. 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.