California Public Employees Retirement System Decreases Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

California Public Employees Retirement System lowered its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,955,783 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,271 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $164,618,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 target price on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. 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’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.64.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded up $0.17 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $82.14. 717,526 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,122,084. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $98.80. The stock has a market cap of $25.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $79.86 and its 200 day moving average is $81.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 business had revenue of $2.22 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.82 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.80 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.07%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 79.15%.

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.