Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Has $110.92 Million Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,179,451 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,438 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned 0.37% of WEC Energy Group worth $110,917,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $99.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $105.38.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.6 %

WEC traded up $0.70 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $109.24. 1,500,167 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,142,926. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $106.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $100.82. 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 market cap of $34.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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). The firm had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 17.75% and a return on equity of 12.39%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.29%. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company'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 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. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.