Wells Fargo & Company MN Trims Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Wells Fargo & Company MN decreased its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 77.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 44,277 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 152,263 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 0.08% of ALLETE worth $2,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highbridge Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,592,000. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $5,378,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in ALLETE by 187.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 100,079 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,425,000 after acquiring an additional 65,222 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS grew its position in ALLETE by 54.5% during the fourth quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 169,707 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,997,000 after acquiring an additional 59,891 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,522,000. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

NYSE ALE traded up $0.02 on Tuesday, reaching $65.27. 345,492 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 378,033. 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 12 month low of $59.00 and a 12 month high of $65.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.26 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.04. The stock has a market cap of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.05 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a dividend of $0.73 per share. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. ALLETE's payout ratio is currently 94.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.