Principal Financial Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 9.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,632,674 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 168,448 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.52% of WEC Energy Group worth $157,031,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $362,971,000 after purchasing an additional 1,912,223 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 57.7% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $182,765,000 after buying an additional 695,317 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This trade represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total value of $179,417.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC opened at $93.26 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $97.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $90.78. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $75.13 and a 52 week high of $102.79. The stock has a market cap of $29.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 11.72% and a net margin of 15.14%. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.83%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 87.29%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. Barclays lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of WEC Energy Group in a report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $102.00 price target for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $98.00.

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.