Nuveen Asset Management LLC Has $370.13 Million Stock Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Nuveen Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 15.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,935,857 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 526,014 shares during the period. Nuveen Asset Management LLC owned 1.24% of WEC Energy Group worth $370,128,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted 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 worth $26,000 after buying an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WEC has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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 note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 price target on WEC Energy Group and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.55 on Tuesday, hitting $107.81. The stock had a trading volume of 550,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,279,879. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $106.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $101.83. 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 market capitalization of $34.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. The firm 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%. The company'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 business earned $1.97 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share 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. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 69.59%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the 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 sale, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available 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 transaction of $119,795.50. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.