WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) Shares Sold by Epoch Investment Partners Inc.

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 4.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 539,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,428 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned 0.17% of WEC Energy Group worth $50,725,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 268 shares during the last quarter. Prudent Man Investment Management Inc. purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Hoey Investments Inc. purchased a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Human Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 4th quarter valued at about $52,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 140.8% in 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 period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 77.20% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 25,000 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 274,955 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,865,612.10. The trade was a 8.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 1,150 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.17, for a total value of $119,795.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 21,951 shares in the company, valued at $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 company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock traded up $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $108.96. 2,083,116 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,339,693. The firm has a market cap of $34.77 billion, a PE ratio of 22.56, a PEG ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $106.17 and its 200 day moving average is $100.44. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $77.47 and a 1 year 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.

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). WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.39% and a net margin of 17.75%. The company had revenue of $2.28 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.10 EPS. WEC Energy Group's revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 5.23 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

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

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.