Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. Sells 1,500 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lowered its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 35,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,500 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 9th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.92.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $78.04 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. The stock has a market cap of $24.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.04, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a 50-day moving average of $81.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $80.99. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $93.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.61 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.28%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 72.93%.

WEC Energy Group Company Profile

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.