Investment Management Corp of Ontario Acquires 48,418 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 462.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 48,418 shares during the period. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $5,537,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WEC. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in WEC Energy Group by 134.2% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 11,047,753 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,038,931,000 after buying an additional 6,329,574 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $188,879,000. Janus Henderson Group PLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 3,815.2% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,471,096 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $138,342,000 after buying an additional 1,433,522 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after buying an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Donaldson Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth about $36,421,000. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:WEC traded down $1.18 on Wednesday, reaching $102.38. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,009,699 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,160,419. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The business's 50-day moving average price is $106.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $101.53. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.18 by $0.09. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.81 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.97 EPS. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 17.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.51%. 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. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 69.59%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. This trade 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the transaction, the director now 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. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price 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. StockNews.com raised shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment 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, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $107.13.

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.