California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 213,790 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. $WEC

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 15.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,195,502 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 213,790 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System owned approximately 0.37% of WEC Energy Group worth $124,571,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $403,372,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 39,945,761 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,162,348,000 after purchasing an additional 816,243 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 16.6% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,103,604 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $556,191,000 after purchasing an additional 726,267 shares during the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 1,529.3% during the first quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 709,209 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $77,290,000 after purchasing an additional 665,681 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 160.6% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 943,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $98,361,000 after purchasing an additional 581,748 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of WEC opened at $105.69 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $112.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $109.24. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $91.94 and a twelve month high of $118.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.98, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.50 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 2nd. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.60%. On average, research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 13th will be given a $0.9525 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 13th. This represents a $3.81 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.6%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 67.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Cowen started coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, October 15th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $117.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $114.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 21st. TD Cowen began coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $125.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $129.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.21.

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.