Janus Henderson Group PLC Acquires 1,433,522 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 3,815.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 1,433,522 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC owned 0.47% of WEC Energy Group worth $138,342,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,038,931,000 after purchasing an additional 6,329,574 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,423,000 after purchasing an additional 110,802 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,722,158 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $538,112,000 after buying an additional 173,006 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in 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 valued at $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,212,188 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $396,114,000 after buying an additional 309,697 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $1.59 during trading on Friday, hitting $106.50. 2,279,840 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,169,146. The stock has a market cap of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a PEG 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 twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $106.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.75.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm's revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.97 EPS. Equities research analysts predict 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 will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.37%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.59%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade represents a 8.33% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target 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.