Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Boosts Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 5.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 98,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 5,049 shares during the period. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $10,767,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WEC. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 10.0% during the 1st quarter. Alpha Cubed Investments LLC now owns 4,827 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $526,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. Callan Capital LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Callan Capital LLC now owns 3,845 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $419,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 31,544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,438,000 after acquiring an additional 1,313 shares during the period. OLD Republic International Corp raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. OLD Republic International Corp now owns 336,279 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $36,648,000 after acquiring an additional 3,948 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 20.6% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,519,401 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $274,564,000 after acquiring an additional 430,269 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

WEC traded down $0.19 during trading on Friday, reaching $105.49. The stock had a trading volume of 1,631,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,153,386. The stock has a market cap of $33.67 billion, a PE ratio of 20.56, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.50. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $79.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The business has a 50-day moving average of $105.52 and a 200-day moving average of $103.84.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.94% and a net margin of 17.95%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.97 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group 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 sale, the vice president directly owned 2,686 shares in the company, valued at $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays upped 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut shares of WEC Energy Group from a "neutral" rating to a "sell" rating and decreased their price target for the stock from $106.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.40.

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.