Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Cuts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lowered its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 10.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 626,201 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 72,347 shares during the quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned about 0.20% of WEC Energy Group worth $49,132,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Alley Investment Management Company LLC grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 324.5% during the fourth quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after buying an additional 30,009 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 34.0% during the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,162,000 after purchasing an additional 9,526 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 324.9% in the 1st quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 21,758 shares in the last quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 18.2% in the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 38,980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,282,000 after purchasing an additional 5,994 shares during the period. Finally, Brookstone Capital Management raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 789.0% in the first quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 125,219 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,283,000 after purchasing an additional 111,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $94.72 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $29.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $96.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.76 and a 200-day moving average of $83.97.

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

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 72.93%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted 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 note on Friday, August 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $80.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $91.31.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $129,796.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.