Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co Takes $218,000 Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $95.25 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.80, a PEG ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day moving average of $89.21 and a 200 day moving average of $83.75. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $96.65.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast 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 disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.75, for a total value of $31,412.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,377 shares in the company, valued at $213,335.75. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total value of $120,918.36. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 1,462 shares in the company, valued at $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock valued at $1,078,058 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.42.

WEC Energy Group 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.