Franklin Resources Inc. Boosts Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 8.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 751,734 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 61,708 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned about 0.24% of WEC Energy Group worth $70,693,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in WEC. Captrust Financial Advisors increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 11.5% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 24,957 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,400,000 after acquiring an additional 2,583 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in WEC Energy Group by 206.2% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 29,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,882,000 after purchasing an additional 20,180 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.0% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 100,517 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $9,681,000 after buying an additional 11,593 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 48.1% in the third quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario now owns 10,462 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,006,000 after buying an additional 3,400 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 33.0% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 15,870 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,526,000 after buying an additional 3,942 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total transaction of $119,795.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. This represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of 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. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

WEC stock traded up $1.71 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $104.92. The company had a trading volume of 586,330 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,376,186. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $104.58 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $99.44. The firm has a market cap of $33.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $2.28 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.10 EPS. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com downgraded WEC Energy Group from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 6th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $102.56.

About WEC Energy Group

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.