ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Holdings Cut by Aristotle Capital Boston LLC

Aristotle Capital Boston LLC cut its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 9.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 196,495 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 20,653 shares during the quarter. Aristotle Capital Boston LLC owned 0.34% of ALLETE worth $12,733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after buying an additional 20,624 shares during the last quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC raised its position in shares of ALLETE by 30.4% during the 4th quarter. AQR Arbitrage LLC now owns 847,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $54,781,000 after purchasing an additional 197,340 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in ALLETE in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,971,000 after purchasing an additional 20,245 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 14.1% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 758,828 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $49,172,000 after buying an additional 93,810 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE traded up $0.01 on Wednesday, reaching $65.50. 288,061 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 362,370. The company's 50 day moving average is $65.25 and its 200-day moving average is $65.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.80 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 0.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.69. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $61.51 and a fifty-two week high of $66.06.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 94.19%.

About ALLETE

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.