Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Cuts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lessened its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 23.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,678 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 6,127 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,851,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 15.6% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 21,075 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,027,000 after acquiring an additional 2,845 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 238.4% during the 3rd quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 12,421 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,195,000 after purchasing an additional 8,751 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.9% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 4,428 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $426,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 4.7% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 2,980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 56.6% in the third quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 6,523 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $627,000 after buying an additional 2,358 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.52 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $108.25. The company had a trading volume of 267,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,309,856. The company's 50-day moving average price is $106.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.72. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $34.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $2.28 billion during 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 revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, 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 given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.32%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 73.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently commented on WEC shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on 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. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 2nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $104.38.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.