Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC Acquires 27,524 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 157.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 45,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 27,524 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $4,235,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the fourth 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. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. 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. 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. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price 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. Six 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 presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $106.50.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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 currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded down $0.20 on Wednesday, hitting $109.56. The stock had a trading volume of 1,785,638 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,141,898. 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 $111.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $106.99 and a 200 day moving average of $101.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.68, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.81 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect 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 will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders 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 yield of 3.28%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

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.