Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Lowers Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board reduced its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 578,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 15,871 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.18% of WEC Energy Group worth $54,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $104.38.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $108.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.18. The stock has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

WEC Energy Group Company 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.