Kentucky Retirement Systems Has $2.12 Million Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Kentucky Retirement Systems cut its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 7.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 22,020 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,779 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,118,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after buying an additional 4,205 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,985,000 after acquiring an additional 17,807 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Atria Investments Inc increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,047,000 after purchasing an additional 7,646 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $94.45.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.9 %

NYSE WEC opened at $97.98 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $96.24 and its 200-day moving average is $88.34. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $100.31. The firm has a market cap of $31.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.96, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate 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 Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

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.