International Private Wealth Advisors LLC Acquires 457 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

International Private Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.2% in the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. International Private Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $357,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WEC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an “underweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $115.00 to $124.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Scotiabank set a $115.00 target price on shares of WEC Energy Group and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $107.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, VP Joshua M. Erickson sold 2,155 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $107.77, for a total value of $232,244.35. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 2,686 shares in the company, valued at approximately $289,470.22. The trade was a 44.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $105.64 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $33.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $106.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $102.69.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 6th. The utilities provider reported $2.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.81 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.97 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s quarterly revenue was up 17.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th were issued a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 69.59%.

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.