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

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 206.2% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 29,968 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring 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.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WEC. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. lifted its position in WEC Energy Group by 58.1% in the 2nd quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Coastline Trust Co acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter valued at about $29,000. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $31,000. Triad Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 2nd quarter valued at about $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 6,720 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 45,709 shares in the company, valued at $4,611,581.01. This represents a 12.82 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Gale E. Klappa sold 1,805 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, November 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.40, for a total transaction of $179,417.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 273,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,160,851.20. This trade represents a 0.66 % 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 currently owned by company insiders.

WEC Energy Group Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WEC opened at $98.35 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $31.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.46. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.57 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.74. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a one year low of $75.13 and a one year high of $102.79.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last announced its quarterly 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 firm had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.93 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, December 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 14th were given a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.40%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 14th. WEC Energy Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 81.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on WEC shares. KeyCorp upped their price target 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. StockNews.com upgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Scotiabank upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $103.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $97.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Monday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $95.55.

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.