Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Acquires 33,327 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 35.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 126,085 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 33,327 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,127,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Czech National Bank raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,392,000. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 51.0% in the 3rd quarter. Motley Fool Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,978 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,883,000 after purchasing an additional 10,126 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,047,000 after buying an additional 7,646 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $18,204,000 after acquiring an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $95.61 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $97.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market capitalization of $30.25 billion, a PE ratio of 23.38, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.8925 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.73%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on WEC. Barclays boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. KeyCorp raised their price target 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. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $96.18.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.