Crewe Advisors LLC Acquires 556 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 15.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,235 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 556 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $398,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $101.00 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year 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 stock has a market cap of $31.95 billion, a PE ratio of 24.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $96.62 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $94.89.

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

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.56.

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.