Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Sells 7,005 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lessened its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 0.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 951,057 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 7,005 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP owned about 1.64% of ALLETE worth $61,628,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALE. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 729 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in ALLETE by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in ALLETE in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Covestor Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 38.0% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 2,410 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $156,000 after purchasing an additional 663 shares during the last quarter. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its position in shares of ALLETE by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $158,000 after purchasing an additional 928 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They set a "hold" rating for the company.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE stock traded down $0.02 on Monday, reaching $65.46. The company's stock had a trading volume of 281,003 shares, compared to its average volume of 375,489. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.69. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $65.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.06. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1 year low of $61.51 and a 1 year high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) 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 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 15th. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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.