MML Investors Services LLC Purchases 3,781 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

MML Investors Services LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 2.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 196,880 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,781 shares during the period. MML Investors Services LLC owned 0.06% of WEC Energy Group worth $18,515,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 2,198 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $207,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 5,881 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $553,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the period. Wealth Alliance boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Alliance now owns 14,090 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,325,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the period. Advisor OS LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3.5% in the fourth quarter. Advisor OS LLC now owns 3,222 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $303,000 after acquiring an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC increased its position in WEC Energy Group by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 916 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $86,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on WEC shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays raised WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $107.69. 2,077,779 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,146,959. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 12 month low of $77.47 and a 12 month high of $111.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.60. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $106.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $100.63. The firm has a market cap of $34.36 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate 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 period in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This is an increase from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.33%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is presently 73.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company's stock, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.