The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 54,177 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 9.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 498,659 shares of the company's stock after selling 54,177 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.19% of Alliant Energy worth $30,264,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of LNT. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,877,000 after buying an additional 144,077 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 51,259 shares of the company's stock worth $2,583,000 after buying an additional 32,166 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,248,000. Natixis Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 14.7% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 196,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $11,915,000 after acquiring an additional 25,161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company's stock worth $71,839,000 after acquiring an additional 101,387 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on LNT. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 4th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 4th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock traded down $0.39 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.20. The company's stock had a trading volume of 838,038 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,978,476. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $60.62 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $56.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $16.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.50, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 12-month low of $46.80 and a 12-month high of $64.19.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.10 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were given a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio is presently 74.42%.

About Alliant Energy

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.