Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Acquires 464 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,798 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 464 shares during the quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WEC. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $258,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 26.5% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 34,998 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,366,000 after purchasing an additional 7,335 shares during the last quarter. Sigma Planning Corp increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.6% during the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 11,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,108,000 after purchasing an additional 2,627 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 82.8% during the 3rd quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,987 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $480,000 after purchasing an additional 2,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth about $45,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $104.72 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market capitalization of $33.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.68, a P/E/G 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $100.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $97.84.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. Analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. KeyCorp upped their price target 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 upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

WEC Energy Group 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.