WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Bought by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 106.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,214 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,164 shares during the period. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,694,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $207,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Alliance grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Advisor OS LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of WEC traded down $0.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $109.26. 690,555 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,301,775. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 52 week low of $77.47 and a 52 week high of $111.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company's 50 day moving average is $106.71 and its two-hundred day moving average is $100.93. The company has a market capitalization of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. WEC Energy Group's quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WEC. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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 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 value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.