Intact Investment Management Inc. Invests $3.49 Million in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 41,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,485,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of WEC. UMB Bank n.a. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.3% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,254 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $262,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 47.6% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,132 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,441,000 after acquiring an additional 17,791 shares during the last quarter. Connecticut Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $300,000. First Personal Financial Services lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 236.3% during the third quarter. First Personal Financial Services now owns 1,076 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.3% in the third quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH now owns 6,370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after acquiring an additional 1,698 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Saturday, January 13th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.64.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC traded down $1.32 on Friday, hitting $81.49. 1,945,646 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,418,732. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $97.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $80.25 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.42. The stock has a market cap of $25.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.10%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 79.15%.

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.