Van ECK Associates Corp Buys 36,787 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 156,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,787 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $14,694,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $10,405,000 after acquiring an additional 6,785 shares in the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth $1,392,000. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $1,538,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 51.0% during the third quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,883,000 after buying an additional 10,126 shares during the period. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,689,000 after buying an additional 78,580 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.7 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $103.10 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $76.50 and a one year high of $104.01. The business’s fifty day moving average is $97.05 and its 200 day moving average is $95.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced 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). The company 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 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.24%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.91%.

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.