WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Meyer Handelman Co.

Meyer Handelman Co. cut its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.9% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 25,550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,190 shares during the quarter. Meyer Handelman Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,005,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $127,945,000. Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 763.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,332,587 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $112,164,000 after buying an additional 1,178,270 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% during the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,170,000 after buying an additional 421,731 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Scotiabank cut their price target on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $87.00 to $91.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $87.31.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of the firm’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $88.66 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $92.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.53, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.41. 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’s 50-day moving average price is $81.63 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.08.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.85% and a return on equity of 12.26%. The business’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.92 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

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.