Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC Decreases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC decreased its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 167,668 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,597 shares during the period. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $15,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $45,000. Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Robbins Farley purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $64,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.7% during the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 777 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $103.10 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.50 and a 52-week high of $104.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.05 and a 200 day moving average of $95.79. The firm 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 quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.60.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

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

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.