ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Boston Partners

Boston Partners reduced its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 26.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 27,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,009 shares during the period. Boston Partners’ holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,810,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its position in ALLETE by 30.9% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 11,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $764,000 after acquiring an additional 295 shares in the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its position in ALLETE by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 16,844 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,081,000 after purchasing an additional 315 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. increased its holdings in ALLETE by 31.0% in the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company.

ALLETE Trading Down 0.1 %

ALE opened at $65.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.18 and a beta of 0.74. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.54 and its 200-day moving average is $64.81. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $56.66 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were paid a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.45%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.19%.

ALLETE Company Profile

ALLETE, Inc operates as an energy company. The company operates through Regulated Operations, ALLETE Clean Energy, and Corporate and Other segments. It generates electricity from coal-fired, biomass co-fired / natural gas, hydroelectric, wind, and solar. In addition, the company provides regulated utility electric services in northwestern Wisconsin to approximately 15,000 electric customers, 13,000 natural gas customers, and 10,000 water customers, as well as regulated utility electric services in northeastern Minnesota to approximately 150,000 retail customers and 14 non-affiliated municipal customers.