Renaissance Technologies LLC Sells 61,800 Shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 74.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,899 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 61,800 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC's holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,354,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of ALLETE by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,365,190 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $412,464,000 after acquiring an additional 20,624 shares during the period. Highbridge Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of ALLETE during the 4th quarter valued at $54,592,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 2.6% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 786,588 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $50,971,000 after purchasing an additional 20,245 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its position in shares of ALLETE by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 368,115 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $23,854,000 after purchasing an additional 12,353 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in ALLETE by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 352,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,818,000 after buying an additional 49,993 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

ALLETE Stock Up 0.2 %

ALLETE stock traded up $0.11 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $65.36. The company had a trading volume of 234,908 shares, compared to its average volume of 378,755. The firm's fifty day moving average is $65.26 and its 200-day moving average is $65.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.08 and a beta of 0.69. ALLETE, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $60.34 and a fifty-two week high of $65.99. 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 (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (EPS) 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Sunday, June 1st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, May 15th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 15th. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is 94.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com initiated coverage on ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating for the company.

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.