Headlands Technologies LLC Purchases 2,743 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Headlands Technologies LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 358.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,508 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,743 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5,257.7% in the 3rd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 1,465,114 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $118,015,000 after buying an additional 1,437,768 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 131.3% in the 3rd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 861,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,379,000 after purchasing an additional 488,917 shares during the last quarter. CI Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,727.0% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 371,872 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,954,000 after purchasing an additional 369,786 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 8,801.5% in the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 261,793 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $22,035,000 after purchasing an additional 258,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 88.9% in the 3rd quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 414,324 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $33,374,000 after purchasing an additional 195,025 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $81.49 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $80.25 and its 200 day moving average price is $81.42. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $97.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 14.98% and a return on equity of 12.17%. The company had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.80 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.10%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on WEC shares. Bank of America reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and issued a $78.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, January 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price target for the company. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. KeyCorp raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.64.

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.