UMB Bank n.a. Increases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

UMB Bank n.a. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WECFree Report) by 6.8% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 2,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 169 shares during the quarter. UMB Bank n.a.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $248,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Coastline Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $31,000. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $97.66 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $30.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $96.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.57. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.13 and a fifty-two week high of $102.79. 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:WECGet Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current 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 $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price 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. Barclays raised 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $98.40.

Check Out Our Latest Report on WEC Energy Group

About WEC Energy Group

(Free Report)

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.

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Institutional Ownership by Quarter for WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC)

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