LPL Financial LLC Acquires 6,367 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

LPL Financial LLC grew its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 40.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,159 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,367 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,436,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at about $380,000. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $409,000 after acquiring an additional 855 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,584,000 after acquiring an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of ALLETE in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $5,378,000. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 187.1% in the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ALLETE Stock Performance

Shares of ALE stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $65.23. 21,495 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 363,961. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.04 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $59.00 and a fifty-two week high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a $0.73 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.48%. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ALLETE Profile

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.