Ellenbecker Investment Group Sells 159 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ellenbecker Investment Group cut its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 159 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group comprises approximately 0.4% of Ellenbecker Investment Group’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th largest holding. Ellenbecker Investment Group’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,615,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Dearborn Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% during the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $49,022,000 after purchasing an additional 131,797 shares during the period. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,059,000 after acquiring an additional 14,084 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,552,000 after acquiring an additional 24,892 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $1,855,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. Bank of America reissued an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down previously from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and cut their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.64.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC traded down $0.01 on Tuesday, hitting $81.96. 1,976,034 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,138,770. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.40. The firm has a market cap of $25.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $98.80. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarterly revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.80 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.08%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.44% 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.