Voloridge Investment Management LLC Takes Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Voloridge Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 18,220 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,713,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 70,983 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,675,000 after purchasing an additional 1,697 shares in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in WEC Energy Group by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 8,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $844,000 after buying an additional 212 shares during the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 24.9% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 15,635 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,504,000 after acquiring an additional 3,121 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Foundations Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC now owns 12,189 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,146,000 after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through 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 sale, the vice president now owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of WEC stock traded down $0.22 on Monday, reaching $107.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,467,721 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,132,167. The company has a market capitalization of $34.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $107.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $102.52. 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 issued its quarterly 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 net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were given a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.35%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price 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. 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. Wall Street Zen raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $107.13.

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.