Howe & Rusling Inc. Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Howe & Rusling Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,086 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $201,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position 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 valued at $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,328,000 after acquiring an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 36.0% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 1,748,141 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $143,557,000 after acquiring an additional 462,646 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 151.7% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 583,990 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,168,000 after acquiring an additional 351,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 10,220.1% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 303,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,192,000 after purchasing an additional 300,574 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $99.26 on Thursday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market cap of $31.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.64.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for 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 revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Three investment 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $94.45.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s 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 trade represents a 43.79 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 46.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,045 shares of company stock worth $1,038,807 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.