JPMorgan Chase & Co. Boosts Holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 17.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,806,360 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 699,177 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned 1.52% of WEC Energy Group worth $462,276,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WEC. Mizuho Securities USA LLC lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 106,685.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 26,000,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,500,680,000 after acquiring an additional 25,975,652 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 1.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,952,851 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $762,453,000 after purchasing an additional 105,580 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 17,270.5% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,718,179 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $453,794,000 after purchasing an additional 4,691,017 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in WEC Energy Group by 102.6% in 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. Finally, American Century Companies Inc. increased its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 36.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,566,001 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $201,328,000 after buying an additional 688,812 shares during the period. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.89, for a total transaction of $677,980.80. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.56, for a total value of $4,009,181.64. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at $27,204,570.88. This trade represents a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock valued at $4,866,579 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC traded down $0.05 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $94.82. 823,057 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,091,115. The company has a market cap of $30.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.18, a PEG ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.31 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $102.79.

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 business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.8925 per share. This represents a $3.57 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. This is a boost from WEC Energy Group's previous quarterly dividend of $0.84. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is 87.29%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on WEC shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $110.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Jefferies Financial Group began coverage on WEC Energy Group in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "hold" rating and a $102.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research note on Monday, December 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, WEC Energy Group presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $98.00.

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.