WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Pathway Financial Advisers LLC

Pathway Financial Advisers LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,672 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 481 shares during the period. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,662,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares during the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,538,000. DRW Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after buying an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $102.47 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $32.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $96.80 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.60.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.26%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 69.15%.

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.