Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Has $700,000 Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 8.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 6,425 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 616 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $700,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% in 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 buying an additional 6,329,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $538,112,000 after purchasing an additional 173,006 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 7.9% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $396,114,000 after purchasing an additional 309,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.4% during the 4th quarter. Nuveen Asset Management LLC now owns 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $370,128,000 after purchasing an additional 526,014 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Barclays boosted their price target on 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. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $106.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.5%

WEC stock opened at $104.74 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.43 billion, a PE ratio of 20.42, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $103.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The firm’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.43%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

About WEC Energy Group

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.