Dividend Assets Capital LLC Acquires Shares of 1,997 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dividend Assets Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 1,997 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $218,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth about $271,000. Clean Yield Group lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12.6% during the 1st quarter. Clean Yield Group now owns 867 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $94,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Callan Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $369,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 23.1% during the fourth quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 14,281 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,343,000 after acquiring an additional 2,680 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaStar Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 95.8% in the fourth quarter. AlphaStar Capital Management LLC now owns 5,395 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 2,639 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC opened at $104.88 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.47 billion, a PE ratio of 21.71, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $106.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $102.72. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.42%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group 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.