Sei Investments Co. Grows Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 22.9% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 899,091 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 167,340 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned 0.28% of WEC Energy Group worth $70,543,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northern Trust Corp boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,071,148 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $342,669,000 after buying an additional 116,219 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in 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 period. Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $127,945,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 350 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 2,377 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,335.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $129,796.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. StockNews.com cut WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $91.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of WEC opened at $94.72 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $96.65. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $89.76 and a 200-day moving average price of $83.95. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

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

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

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.