Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $362.97 Million Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 102.6% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,912,223 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $362,971,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Trustmark National Bank Trust Department bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $202,000. Moors & Cabot Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.3% during the 3rd quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 5,331 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 627 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 38.3% in the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 267 shares during the period. Howe & Rusling Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Finally, Commerce Bank increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 79,570 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,653,000 after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. The trade was a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 51,314 shares of company stock valued at $5,047,988 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $100.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $96.69 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $88.85. 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 $101.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective 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 research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

About WEC Energy Group

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.