WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Quantinno Capital Management LP

Quantinno Capital Management LP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 131.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,134 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 25,661 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,244,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 13.4% in the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after buying an additional 411 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 46.4% during the fourth quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 15,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 27.6% during the fourth quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $106.50 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.92 and a 200-day moving average of $101.75. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The firm has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

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.