Virtu Financial LLC Purchases Shares of 18,202 WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC)

Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group, Inc. (NYSE:WEC) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 18,202 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,428,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in WEC Energy Group during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in WEC Energy Group in the first quarter worth $25,000. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in shares of WEC Energy Group by 58.1% during the second quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 321 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares in the last quarter. Olistico Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group during the 2nd quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of WEC Energy Group in the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 77.20% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WEC shares. Scotiabank upped their target price on WEC Energy Group from $90.00 to $103.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on WEC Energy Group from $98.00 to $103.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of WEC Energy Group from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of WEC Energy Group from $91.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $90.42.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares in the company, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Ulice Payne, Jr. sold 750 shares of WEC Energy Group stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $88.45, for a total value of $66,337.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 21,876 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,934,932.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP William J. Guc sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.99, for a total value of $557,940.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 7,702 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $716,208.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,702 shares of company stock worth $1,078,058. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

WEC Energy Group Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of WEC Energy Group stock opened at $95.74 on Wednesday. WEC Energy Group, Inc. has a 1 year low of $75.13 and a 1 year high of $96.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.54. The stock has a market cap of $30.26 billion, a PE ratio of 20.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $88.87 and a 200 day moving average price of $83.66.

WEC Energy Group (NYSE:WEC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The utilities provider reported $0.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.63 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.77 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.87 billion. WEC Energy Group had a return on equity of 12.26% and a net margin of 15.85%. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.92 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that WEC Energy Group, Inc. will post 4.88 earnings per share for the current year.

WEC Energy Group Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, September 1st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 14th were issued a $0.835 dividend. This represents a $3.34 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.49%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 14th. WEC Energy Group’s payout ratio is presently 72.93%.

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.