Dearborn Partners LLC Sells 9,353 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dearborn Partners LLC cut its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,737 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 9,353 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up 1.8% of Dearborn Partners LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th largest position. Dearborn Partners LLC owned 0.14% of WEC Energy Group worth $43,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 11.8% in the second quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,954,778 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $153,372,000 after acquiring an additional 206,637 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,782,939 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $139,889,000 after purchasing an additional 61,019 shares during the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the second quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,355,909 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $106,385,000 after acquiring an additional 22,026 shares during the period. Finally, Westwood Holdings Group Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Westwood Holdings Group Inc. now owns 1,320,723 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $108,458,000 after purchasing an additional 111,254 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $96.13 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $30.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.10. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $100.31.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Activity

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 transaction 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 $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of several analyst reports. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Three equities 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.