WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Purchased by Verity & Verity LLC

Verity & Verity LLC lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 4.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 113,896 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,669 shares during the quarter. Verity & Verity LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $12,412,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $188,879,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 12,777.6% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,834,024 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $199,872,000 after buying an additional 1,819,782 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position 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 buying an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Talaria Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth about $53,970,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently commented on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. 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 report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $107.13.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 now owns 2,686 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $289,470.22. This represents a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.4%

NYSE:WEC traded down $1.52 on Friday, reaching $104.92. The stock had a trading volume of 1,724,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,864. The company has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. The firm's fifty day moving average is $106.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $102.80. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.42%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.