WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Red Cedar Investment Management LLC

Red Cedar Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,671 shares during the period. Red Cedar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,189,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 72.0% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $435,000 after acquiring an additional 2,162 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 16.1% during the 4th quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 5,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 421,731 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 184,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,547,000 after buying an additional 29,086 shares during the period. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the fourth quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 58,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,910,000 after buying an additional 3,648 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

WEC stock traded up $0.14 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $83.22. The company had a trading volume of 1,780,159 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,750,358. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $80.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $81.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $26.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $96.17.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 4.01%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Saturday, January 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price for the company. Four 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.29.

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.