Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD Boosts Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 498,080 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,785 shares during the quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned about 0.16% of WEC Energy Group worth $46,841,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position 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 valued at $1,038,931,000 after acquiring an additional 6,329,574 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,063,653 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $756,423,000 after acquiring an additional 110,802 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased 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 worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 309,697 shares during the period. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2.3% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,863,782 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $363,350,000 after purchasing an additional 87,711 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC traded down $0.25 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $108.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,678,224 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,136,591. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company's 50-day moving average is $106.84 and its two-hundred day moving average is $101.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.31%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 73.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $105.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.