WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Rafferty Asset Management LLC

Rafferty Asset Management LLC lowered its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 35,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 907 shares during the quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,340,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake 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 worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 13.4% during the fourth quarter. Procyon Advisors LLC now owns 3,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $327,000 after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $250,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC increased its position 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 worth $1,504,000 after purchasing an additional 5,069 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 27.6% in the 4th quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 1,559 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:WEC opened at $106.50 on Monday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-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. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $106.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.75. The firm has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.97 EPS. Equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is 69.59%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company’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 transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $107.13.

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.