Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. Takes $27.80 Million Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 295,608 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $27,799,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. owned approximately 0.09% of WEC Energy Group as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WEC. Annex Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Annex Advisory Services LLC now owns 110,644 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,405,000 after buying an additional 6,785 shares in the last quarter. Matrix Trust Co bought a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,538,000. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 20.9% in the 4th quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 453,945 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,689,000 after purchasing an additional 78,580 shares during the last quarter. PFW Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,073,000. Finally, Walkner Condon Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $271,000. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" 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 increased their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays raised 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company 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 Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 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 $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. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE:WEC traded up $0.70 on Tuesday, hitting $109.24. 1,500,167 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,143,032. The company has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $106.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.82.

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

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The company 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. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.29%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

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.