Greenleaf Trust Increases Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Greenleaf Trust increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 8,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 342 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter valued at about $45,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth about $50,000. Future Financial Wealth Managment LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth about $63,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.7% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $99.30 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $96.67 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.77.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.