Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board Purchases 12,645 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board boosted its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 57.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 34,626 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,645 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $3,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% during the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 268 shares during the period. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% during the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.62, for a total transaction of $2,715,500.00. Following 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value 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 trade represents a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded up $0.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $108.22. 1,571,660 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,151,083. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.60 and a quick ratio of 0.43. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1-year low of $77.47 and a 1-year high of $111.00. The firm has a market cap of $34.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $105.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $100.21.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The utilities provider reported $1.43 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.49 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $2.28 billion during 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 firm's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.10 EPS. Research 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 company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a dividend of $0.8975 per share. 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 (DPR) is presently 73.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on WEC. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price 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. Barclays raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. StockNews.com upgraded WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their price target for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. 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.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.38.

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.