Congress Asset Management Co. Has $3.50 Million Stock Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Congress Asset Management Co. increased its holdings in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 9.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,735 shares during the quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. owned 0.09% of ALLETE worth $3,499,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 0.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,459,692 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $157,888,000 after purchasing an additional 13,335 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $89,584,000 after purchasing an additional 21,850 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 766,343 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $49,192,000 after purchasing an additional 7,739 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Alpine Associates Management Inc. now owns 398,047 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $25,551,000 after purchasing an additional 45,447 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers raised its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 209,532 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $13,578,000 after purchasing an additional 7,153 shares in the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Stock Down 0.0 %

ALE traded down $0.02 on Friday, reaching $65.44. 291,739 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,336. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $65.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $64.55. ALLETE, Inc. has a 52-week low of $55.86 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The company has a market cap of $3.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.80. 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 posted its earnings results 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 Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th will be paid a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.46%. This is a boost from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 14th. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Separately, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research report on Friday, January 10th. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock.

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.