ClearBridge Investments Ltd Has $183.54 Million Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

ClearBridge Investments Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,951,762 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 85,569 shares during the period. WEC Energy Group makes up about 4.8% of ClearBridge Investments Ltd’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. ClearBridge Investments Ltd owned approximately 0.62% of WEC Energy Group worth $183,544,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $762,453,000 after acquiring an additional 105,580 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted 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 valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,863,782 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $363,350,000 after buying an additional 87,711 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,261,706 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $212,691,000 after buying an additional 46,609 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC opened at $107.50 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year high of $110.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $103.59 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $98.92. The firm has a market cap of $33.95 billion, a PE ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company’s revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WEC. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 6th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Bank of America raised WEC Energy Group from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.