WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 821,719 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 7,274 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned approximately 0.26% of WEC Energy Group worth $79,033,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Olistico Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, ESL Trust Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the first quarter valued at about $37,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $96.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $30.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.52 and a beta of 0.44. The business’s 50 day moving average is $96.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $88.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $100.31.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.47%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on WEC. KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on 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. Bank of America upped their target price 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. Finally, Scotiabank upped their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.