Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 86,154 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 364.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,783 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 86,154 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $10,324,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WEC. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 3,828.6% in the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 275 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $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 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. bought a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its position in WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 590 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $55,000 after purchasing an additional 345 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the company's 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 sale, the director now owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $2,286,635.67. The trade was a 4.98 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WEC. Barclays upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $93.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded WEC Energy Group from an "underweight" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $106.00 to $108.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $112.00 to $115.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $104.38.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.20 during trading on Thursday, reaching $108.96. 2,083,117 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,144,908. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $77.47 and a twelve month high of $111.00. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $106.29 and a 200-day moving average price of $100.54. 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 (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 the consensus estimate of $1.49 by ($0.06). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The business had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 14th will be given a $0.8975 dividend. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. This represents a $3.59 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.29%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 14th. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 73.91%.

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.