Merit Financial Group LLC Has $422,000 Position in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) by 16.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 5,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying 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 reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Tennessee Valley Asset Management Partners acquired a new stake in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Valued Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Authentikos Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in WEC Energy Group in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in WEC Energy Group during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 77.20% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WEC. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on WEC Energy Group from $89.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on WEC Energy Group from $93.00 to $91.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 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. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on shares of WEC Energy Group from $95.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of WEC Energy Group from $96.00 to $90.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.29.

Insider Activity at WEC Energy Group

In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Scott J. Lauber sold 2,830 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.89, for a total transaction 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 approximately $3,402,131.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Chairman Gale E. Klappa sold 37,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.69, for a total transaction of $2,925,694.20. Following the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 274,782 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,622,595.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.44% of the stock is owned by insiders.

WEC Energy Group Trading Up 1.2 %

WEC opened at $83.83 on Wednesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $80.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $81.43. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a PE ratio of 18.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.37 and a beta of 0.40. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a twelve month low of $75.13 and a twelve month high of $95.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.24, a quick ratio of 0.42 and a current ratio of 0.55.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.97 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.92 billion. WEC Energy Group had a net margin of 16.67% and a return on equity of 13.01%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 7.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.61 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.87 EPS for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Announces Dividend

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

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.