Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT) Shares Sold by Magellan Asset Management Ltd

Key Points

• Magellan Asset Management Ltd drastically reduced its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation by 84.1%, selling 915,040 shares and now holding only 173,400 shares worth approximately $11 million.
• Alliant Energy's stock has recently received mixed ratings from analysts, with the average consensus rating being "Hold" and a target price of $64.23.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.5075 per share, providing investors with a dividend yield of 3.1%.

Magellan Asset Management Ltd lowered its stake in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 84.1% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 173,400 shares of the company's stock after selling 915,040 shares during the quarter. Magellan Asset Management Ltd owned approximately 0.07% of Alliant Energy worth $11,158,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of LNT. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 660,927 shares of the company's stock valued at $39,087,000 after acquiring an additional 11,522 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,257 shares of the company's stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 32.9% in the 4th quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 5,697 shares of the company's stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 1,410 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Alliant Energy in the 4th quarter worth about $20,677,000. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in Alliant Energy by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 111,633 shares of the company's stock valued at $6,602,000 after buying an additional 1,841 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company's stock.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 0.9%

NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.57 on Wednesday, reaching $65.37. The company had a trading volume of 1,217,923 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,977,106. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a PE ratio of 20.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $62.61 and a 200-day moving average of $62.00. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1 year low of $55.98 and a 1 year high of $66.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a current ratio of 0.57 and a quick ratio of 0.24.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 7th. The company reported $0.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.62 by $0.06. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 20.07% and a return on equity of 12.25%. The firm had revenue of $961.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $977.15 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 31st will be issued a $0.5075 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.1%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.65%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $67.00 price objective (up from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 15th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $71.00 price objective on shares of Alliant Energy and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $68.00 target price (up from $66.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays cut Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $59.00 to $61.00 in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $64.59.

Alliant Energy Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.