NorthRock Partners LLC Increases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 81.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,039 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $42,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company'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 transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents 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 corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WEC shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of 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. 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 note on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, 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 note on Wednesday, May 7th. Six equities 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 company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.5%

WEC Energy Group stock traded up $1.59 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $106.50. The stock had a trading volume of 2,279,840 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,169,146. 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 has a market capitalization of $33.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12-month low of $77.47 and a 12-month high of $111.00. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $106.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.70.

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

WEC Energy Group 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.