WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. trimmed its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 33.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,343 shares during the period. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $612,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Burling Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,585,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at $27,799,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 22.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 43,528 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $4,094,000 after buying an additional 8,009 shares during the last quarter. MGO One Seven LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 35.8% during the 4th quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 15,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,464,000 after buying an additional 4,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 498,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,841,000 after buying an additional 5,785 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays raised their price target 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.38.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,678,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,138,022. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $106.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.13. The stock has a market cap of $34.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.31%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.