WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by EP Wealth Advisors LLC

EP Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,185 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $582,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $426,000 after buying an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 200,741 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $19,308,000 after buying an additional 2,395 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 50.9% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 1,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $150,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 68,592 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,450,000 after purchasing an additional 4,204 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays boosted 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.13.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value 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 represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $107.65 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $77.47 and a fifty-two week high of $111.00. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $107.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.46. The company has a market cap of $34.35 billion, a PE ratio of 22.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio is 69.59%.

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.