WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Franklin Resources Inc.

Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 690,026 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,583 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. owned 0.22% of WEC Energy Group worth $66,450,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second 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 during the period. Coastline Trust Co bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $96.91.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $94.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.21, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.70 and a 200-day moving average of $90.65. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.76%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

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.