Aptus Capital Advisors LLC Purchases 2,326 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 43.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,662 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,326 shares during the quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $721,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,325,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $303,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after buying an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 2.1%

Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $2.30 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $105.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 399,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,923. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $107.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $101.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The stock has a market cap of $33.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.8975 dividend. 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. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 69.59%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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