WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. reduced its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 30.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,511 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,086 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $903,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $983,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.7% during the 4th quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 316,255 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,391,000 after acquiring an additional 19,867 shares during the period. Alley Investment Management Company LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 324.5% during the 4th quarter. Alley Investment Management Company LLC now owns 39,256 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,304,000 after acquiring an additional 30,009 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 34.0% in the fourth quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 37,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,162,000 after acquiring an additional 9,526 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lantz Financial LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 324.9% in the first quarter. Lantz Financial LLC now owns 28,454 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,337,000 after purchasing an additional 21,758 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEC. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 23rd. Scotiabank lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com lowered WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $89.77.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock opened at $93.03 on Tuesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $93.78. The company has a market capitalization of $29.40 billion, a PE ratio of 20.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.74, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $85.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $82.35.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.63 by $0.04. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The company had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.92 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 72.93%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Anthony Reese sold 1,362 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.78, for a total transaction of $120,918.36. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 1,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $129,796.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 8,462 shares of company stock valued at $776,608. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.