Millennium Management LLC Buys 73,126 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Millennium Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 82.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 162,114 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 73,126 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned about 0.05% of WEC Energy Group worth $15,245,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 23.1% during the 4th quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 62,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,911,000 after buying an additional 11,809 shares in the last quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV now owns 3,019 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $284,000 after buying an additional 98 shares in the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 462.8% during the 4th quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 58,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $5,537,000 after buying an additional 48,418 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% in the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after purchasing an additional 1,433,522 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gotham Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 83,241 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,828,000 after purchasing an additional 982 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.2%

WEC stock traded up $1.25 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $108.03. 959,417 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,141,505. 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 firm has a market cap of $34.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $106.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.20. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.97 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In related news, 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted 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 note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.13.

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.