The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Has $19.35 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 201,182 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,411 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned about 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $19,350,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $101.05 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.71, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $97.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,160,851.20. The trade was a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of several recent research reports. KeyCorp increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. 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 research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.