WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Acquired by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 22.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,540 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 3,549 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,129,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew 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 purchasing an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $249,000. abrdn plc grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% during the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 132,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,424,000 after acquiring an additional 16,101 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 37.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,069 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $101,000 after acquiring an additional 290 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 93,747 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,816,000 after acquiring an additional 3,662 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.0%

NYSE WEC opened at $104.71 on Friday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $106.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $102.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.42 billion, a PE ratio of 21.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.97 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th were paid a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.43%. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 69.59%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised 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 report on Tuesday, April 29th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of the business'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 $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About WEC Energy Group

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.

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