Sowell Financial Services LLC Buys Shares of 2,978 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Sowell Financial Services LLC bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,978 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $325,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.1% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 81,027 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,044 shares during the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 8.9% during the 1st quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 4,353 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $474,000 after acquiring an additional 357 shares during the period. Brown Miller Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $538,000. Trust Point Inc. acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 1st quarter worth about $213,000. Finally, Optas LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter valued at about $329,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total transaction of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several research reports. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research report on Saturday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.22 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $104.05. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,183,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,142,062. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00. The company has a market capitalization of $33.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.28, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.50. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $106.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $102.97.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.95% and a return on equity of 12.94%. WEC Energy Group's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. 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 firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a $0.8975 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.45%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 69.59%.

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.