The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 2,533 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lowered its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 198,649 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 2,533 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned approximately 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $18,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in 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 valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth approximately $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in 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 buying an additional 345 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price 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. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded 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 report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $105.38.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 21,951 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

NYSE WEC traded up $1.16 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $109.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,219,278 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,138,585. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $106.90 and a 200 day moving average of $101.19. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $77.47 and a one year high of $111.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $35.05 billion, a PE ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.46. 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 (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.18 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during 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 firm's quarterly revenue 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. Analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.8975 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.27%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

WEC Energy Group 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.