WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 57.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 695,317 shares during the quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec owned approximately 0.60% of WEC Energy Group worth $182,765,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $554,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares during the period. Comerica Bank increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.1% in the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 98,183 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,063,000 after buying an additional 1,093 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 359.5% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 115,116 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $9,453,000 after acquiring an additional 90,062 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 76.7% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 28,740 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,360,000 after acquiring an additional 12,471 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 49.4% during the 1st quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $67,000 after acquiring an additional 267 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $101.05 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.42. The stock has a market cap of $31.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

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.