Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $14.11 Million Stock Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 5.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,644 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,281 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $14,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Hughes Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $28,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $32,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 252.6% in the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 342 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Creekmur Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,420.0% in the first quarter. Creekmur Asset Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stephens Consulting LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 138.6% in the first quarter. Stephens Consulting LLC now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $59,000 after buying an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 9,231 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.88, for a total transaction of $1,023,533.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 56,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,258,399.84. This trade represents a 14.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Anthony Reese sold 4,177 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.30, for a total transaction of $460,723.10. Following the sale, the vice president owned 1,757 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $193,797.10. This trade represents a 70.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 70,603 shares of company stock valued at $7,813,377 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.5%

WEC opened at $109.93 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.28, a current ratio of 0.55 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company’s 50-day moving average is $106.50 and its 200 day moving average is $105.95. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.14 and a fifty-two week high of $111.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.06, a PEG ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.42.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The utilities provider reported $0.76 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.05. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.87% and a return on equity of 12.90%. The company had revenue of $2.01 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 1st. Investors of record on Thursday, August 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 68.39%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WEC. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $100.00 in a research note on Wednesday, June 25th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. Finally, UBS Group set a $107.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $106.40.

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.