New York Life Investment Management LLC Boosts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 42,341 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 362 shares during the quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,982,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Advisor OS LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $303,000 after purchasing an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 489,088 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,994,000 after buying an additional 4,249 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,261,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,691,000 after buying an additional 46,609 shares in the last quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.2% during the 4th quarter. CWS Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,293 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Finally, IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 12,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,221,000 after acquiring an additional 1,250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $106.73 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.78 and a 12-month high of $107.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $98.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $96.98.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.10 EPS. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.13%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $101.88.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.