Aquatic Capital Management LLC Makes New $5.59 Million Investment in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 59,480 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,593,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on 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. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC traded down $0.36 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $108.43. The stock had a trading volume of 637,055 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,132,496. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.02. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.44, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

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.