Thompson Investment Management Inc. Sells 863 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Thompson Investment Management Inc. reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 69,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 863 shares during the quarter. Thompson Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,542,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Empowered Funds LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 23.1% in the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after purchasing an additional 2,680 shares in the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 47,785 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,494,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $853,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $1,764,000. Finally, Keystone Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $101.82 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $96.60 and its 200-day moving average is $95.11. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $75.13 and a 12-month high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $32.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.49.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.28%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.15%.

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.