Benjamin Edwards Inc. Sells 955 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Benjamin Edwards Inc. decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,011 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 955 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group accounts for 0.9% of Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,473,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $127,945,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 93.3% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,665,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $140,146,000 after buying an additional 803,718 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second 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 last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after buying an additional 462,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter worth about $23,297,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. Bank of America raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 6th. Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.31.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total transaction of $31,412.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $93.78 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $89.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $83.82. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $96.65. The firm has a market cap of $29.62 billion, a PE ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.92 EPS. WEC Energy Group’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.56%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.