Leeward Investments LLC MA Reduces Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Leeward Investments LLC MA trimmed its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 157,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 4,247 shares during the quarter. Leeward Investments LLC MA’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,248,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the third quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after acquiring an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 131.3% in the third quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 861,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,379,000 after acquiring an additional 488,917 shares in the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the third quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,954,000 after acquiring an additional 369,786 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8,801.5% in the fourth quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 261,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,035,000 after acquiring an additional 258,852 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 88.9% in the third quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 414,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,374,000 after acquiring an additional 195,025 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.6 %

NYSE WEC opened at $81.50 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $75.13 and a 12 month high of $97.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $80.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.43.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.80 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.10%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 79.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.