Merit Financial Group LLC Acquires 694 Shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 5,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 694 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in WEC Energy Group were worth $422,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 2,122.2% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 441,603 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $37,170,000 after purchasing an additional 421,731 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 18.7% in the 4th quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 184,717 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,547,000 after purchasing an additional 29,086 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.7% in the 4th quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 58,334 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,910,000 after purchasing an additional 3,648 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 44.5% in the 4th quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 646 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of WEC Energy Group by 6.8% in the 4th quarter. Robertson Stephens Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,257 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $274,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. 77.20% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 43,125 shares in the company, valued at $3,402,131.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total value of $2,925,694.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total value of $223,258.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 43,125 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,402,131.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Stock Up 1.2 %

WEC Energy Group stock opened at $83.83 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $80.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $81.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $95.95. The company has a market capitalization of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.07. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 13.01% and a net margin of 16.67%. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 earnings per share. WEC Energy Group’s revenue was down 7.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, June 1st. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 14th will be issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.98%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, May 13th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 72.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WEC. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 2nd. StockNews.com lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered shares of WEC Energy Group from a “neutral” rating to an “underweight” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $90.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. Barclays cut their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $79.00 to $75.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $86.29.

WEC Energy Group 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.