Atria Investments Inc Acquires 7,646 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Atria Investments Inc grew its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,873 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares during the quarter. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,047,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.4% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 5,376 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $441,000 after acquiring an additional 634 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 46.8% during the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 11,443 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $940,000 after purchasing an additional 3,647 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 19.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 109,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $8,985,000 after buying an additional 17,807 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 1st quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 39,497 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,244,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bleakley Financial Group LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the first quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 7,767 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $638,000 after buying an additional 491 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE WEC opened at $98.69 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $95.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $87.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.13 and a 1-year high of $100.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, December 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 14th will be given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.38%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 81.66%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Jefferies Financial Group initiated coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price objective for the company. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $94.45.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 3,662 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Mary Beth Straka sold 3,240 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.04, for a total transaction of $301,449.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,662 shares in the company, valued at approximately $340,712.48. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total transaction of $557,940.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at $716,208.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.