Lantz Financial LLC Reduces Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Lantz Financial LLC decreased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 28,807 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 971 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,709,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,248 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Tsfg LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Tsfg LLC now owns 2,699 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $254,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Drake & Associates LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the 3rd quarter. Drake & Associates LLC now owns 6,216 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $598,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Park National Corp OH boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 3,964 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 20.7% in 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 period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC opened at $98.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.97, a PEG ratio of 2.46 and a beta of 0.48. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $96.73 and a 200-day moving average price of $93.76. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About WEC Energy Group

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.