Merit Financial Group LLC Increases Stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 46.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 15,991 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,069 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $1,504,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the third quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,500,680,000 after purchasing an additional 25,975,652 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $453,794,000 after buying an additional 4,691,017 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,776,071 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $362,971,000 after buying an additional 1,912,223 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 17.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $462,276,000 after acquiring an additional 699,177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 57.7% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,900,238 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $182,765,000 after acquiring an additional 695,317 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. KeyCorp increased their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $90.00 to $98.00 in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Scotiabank increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, WEC Energy Group currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.40.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $1.20 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $100.23. 1,437,272 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,745,822. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.41.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group's dividend payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total transaction of $4,009,181.64. Following the transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total value of $677,980.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 45,709 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. Corporate insiders own 0.44% 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.