UMB Bank n.a. Grows Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 40.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,721 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,080 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $406,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,423,000 after acquiring an additional 110,802 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $538,112,000 after acquiring an additional 173,006 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 7.9% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,114,000 after acquiring an additional 309,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 15.4% in the fourth quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,128,000 after acquiring an additional 526,014 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $105.53 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $33.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $106.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.97 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.40%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 69.59%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.13.

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.