Swiss National Bank Buys 3,000 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 937,287 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,000 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of WEC Energy Group worth $90,148,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17.3% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 26,277 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,527,000 after acquiring an additional 3,880 shares during the period. Claro Advisors LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Claro Advisors LLC now owns 9,610 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $924,000 after buying an additional 835 shares in the last quarter. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at about $373,000. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 275,834 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,530,000 after acquiring an additional 40,735 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $99.28 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $100.31. The stock has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.44. The business has a fifty day moving average of $96.33 and a 200-day moving average of $88.45. 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 (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WEC. Bank of America upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. This represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total value of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

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.