Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Lowers Stock Holdings in Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Alliant Energy Corporation (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 6,697,856 shares of the company's stock after selling 314,716 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.61% of Alliant Energy worth $431,007,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Tsfg LLC purchased a new stake in Alliant Energy during the 1st quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 382.5% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 912 shares of the company's stock valued at $54,000 after purchasing an additional 723 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of NASDAQ LNT traded up $0.99 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.21. The company had a trading volume of 1,575,547 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,141. The company has a market capitalization of $16.49 billion, a PE ratio of 22.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.24. Alliant Energy Corporation has a 1-year low of $54.56 and a 1-year high of $66.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $61.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $61.17.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The company reported $0.83 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.71 by $0.12. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 12.01% and a net margin of 18.26%. The company had revenue of $1.13 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.09 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.62 earnings per share. Alliant Energy's quarterly revenue was up 9.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Alliant Energy Corporation will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, August 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 31st will be paid a $0.5075 dividend. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.16%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 70.00%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

LNT has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Barclays downgraded Alliant Energy from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $59.00 to $61.00 in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wolfe Research upgraded Alliant Energy from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $68.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $67.00 target price (up previously from $65.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Wall Street Zen raised Alliant Energy from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $64.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $64.23.

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.