Raymond James Trust N.A. Grows Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 41.9% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 18,054 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,330 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,736,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the business’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 directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % 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 worth $5,047,988 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $100.66 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.88. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $101.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.44.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WEC shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

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.