D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. Has $2.32 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. trimmed its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 29.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,259 shares during the quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Insider Activity

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, 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. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

NYSE:WEC opened at $107.50 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average is $107.02 and its 200 day moving average is $101.87. The firm has a market cap of $34.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.26, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. 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 52-week low of $77.47 and a 52-week high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict 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 given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.34%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 69.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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 upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price 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.

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