Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 20,180 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC - Free Report) by 206.2% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 29,968 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,180 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC's holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $2,882,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Czech National Bank grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 7.0% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 64,388 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,193,000 after purchasing an additional 4,205 shares during the period. DRW Securities LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,392,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in WEC Energy Group by 2,949.7% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 232,018 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,204,000 after buying an additional 224,410 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc boosted its holdings in WEC Energy Group by 13.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 62,873 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,047,000 after acquiring an additional 7,646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RFG Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of WEC Energy Group by 35.0% in the second quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 29,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,310,000 after acquiring an additional 7,640 shares during the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WEC has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Monday. Barclays raised their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $86.00 to $89.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 1st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "underperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.55.

WEC Energy Group Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WEC traded down $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $97.92. 573,208 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,122,428. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.46. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $97.57 and a 200 day moving average of $89.74. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.70 by $0.12. The business had revenue of $1.86 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.93 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 15.14% and a return on equity of 11.72%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a dividend of $0.835 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.41%. WEC Energy Group's payout ratio is currently 81.66%.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 40,269 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $27,204,570.88. The trade was a 12.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $4,611,581.01. The trade was a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 48,794 shares of company stock worth $4,866,579. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.