Mariner LLC Purchases 6,547 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Mariner LLC boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 4.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 147,524 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 6,547 shares during the quarter. Mariner LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $13,873,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $42,000. Human Investing LLC bought a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during 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 currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other WEC Energy Group news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total value of $2,715,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares in the company, valued at $29,865,612.10. This represents a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group 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 owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

WEC stock opened at $108.22 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $105.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $100.10. The stock has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.41, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. 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 twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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%. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.10 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be paid a $0.8975 dividend. This is a positive change from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.32%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is 73.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of 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. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price 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. StockNews.com raised WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, 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 research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.38.

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.

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