Cambridge Trust Co. Cuts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Cambridge Trust Co. lowered its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 81,614 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,649 shares during the period. Cambridge Trust Co.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $6,869,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dearborn Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC now owns 582,421 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $49,022,000 after purchasing an additional 131,797 shares during the last quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 428,408 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $36,059,000 after acquiring an additional 14,084 shares during the last quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the 3rd quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 205,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $16,552,000 after acquiring an additional 24,892 shares during the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 44,471 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,582,000 after acquiring an additional 1,010 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BKM Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,855,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research note on Friday, February 2nd. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Bank of America restated an “underperform” rating and set a $78.00 price objective (down from $84.00) on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, January 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on WEC Energy Group in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $88.00 price objective on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.31.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.35 on Thursday, reaching $79.98. The company had a trading volume of 508,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,140,029. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52-week low of $75.13 and a 52-week high of $98.80. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $79.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $81.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 18.87, a PEG ratio of 2.71 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.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.02. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.17% and a net margin of 14.98%. The business had revenue of $2.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.82 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.80 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other WEC Energy Group news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.