Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 6.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,145 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 466 shares during the quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 14.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 12,399 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,193,000 after purchasing an additional 1,522 shares during the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 257.1% during the third quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 11,664 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,122,000 after purchasing an additional 8,398 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the third quarter worth $937,000. Finally, Park Place Capital Corp lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 108.5% during the third quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 2,212 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $213,000 after purchasing an additional 1,151 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $99.30 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $96.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.77. The firm has a market cap of $31.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.28, a PEG ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.49. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $102.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.835 per share. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.44% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. KeyCorp increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $100.00.

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.