146,400 Shares in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Bought by Two Sigma Advisers LP

Two Sigma Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 146,400 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $13,767,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 5.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 2,658 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $250,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 83.7% during the 4th quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 7,512 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $706,000 after buying an additional 3,423 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 2,641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $248,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 3,862 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 174 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.8%

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.89 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $107.67. The company's stock had a trading volume of 462,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,139,583. The company has a 50 day moving average of $106.94 and a 200-day moving average of $102.20. The stock has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.31, a P/E/G 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 one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. The business's revenue was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate 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 an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEC. Barclays increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research 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 MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.13.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the company's 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at $289,470.22. This trade represents a 44.52% 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 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.