ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Stake Increased by GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.

GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. increased its stake in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 205,500 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,450 shares during the period. ALLETE makes up 2.3% of GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. GABELLI & Co INVESTMENT ADVISERS INC. owned about 0.36% of ALLETE worth $13,316,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $412,464,000 after purchasing an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in ALLETE by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,584,000 after buying an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in ALLETE by 2.6% during the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $50,971,000 after buying an additional 20,245 shares during the period. Finally, Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its position in shares of ALLETE by 8.3% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 398,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,825,000 after acquiring an additional 30,479 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.72. 248,329 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,800. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $65.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.99. The firm has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $59.00 and a 52-week high of $65.99.

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

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.51%. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

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.