Intact Investment Management Inc. Invests $3.49 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Intact Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor bought 41,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,485,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Portside Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the third quarter. Portside Wealth Group LLC now owns 10,374 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $837,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Balentine LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 4,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $395,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.6% in the third quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 3,979 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $321,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the third quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 10,283 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $828,000 after acquiring an additional 144 shares during the period. Finally, Mcdonald Partners LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% in the third quarter. Mcdonald Partners LLC now owns 5,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $471,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

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

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $1.32 during trading on Friday, reaching $81.49. 1,945,646 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,418,732. The company’s 50 day moving average is $80.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a PE ratio of 19.31, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $97.34.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.80 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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

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.