CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Sells 77,306 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,113,239 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 77,306 shares during the quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $105,479,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $188,879,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 897.4% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 568,629 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,694,000 after acquiring an additional 511,618 shares during the period. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $36,421,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays upgraded 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $107.50 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $103.59 and its 200 day moving average is $98.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $110.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.