WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC

Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 43.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 4,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,367 shares during the period. Fifth Third Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter worth $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $99.26 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.64. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $100.31. The company has a market capitalization of $31.40 billion, a PE ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.36%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,045 shares of company stock worth $1,038,807 in the last three months. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. Scotiabank upped 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. KeyCorp upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.