Jennison Associates LLC Acquires New Stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Jennison Associates LLC bought a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 544,897 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $32,225,000. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.21% of Alliant Energy as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 10,691,172 shares of the company's stock worth $648,847,000 after purchasing an additional 65,110 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 1.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,593,166 shares of the company's stock worth $398,880,000 after purchasing an additional 92,525 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 8.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company's stock worth $395,260,000 after purchasing an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 0.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 2,216,475 shares of the company's stock worth $134,518,000 after purchasing an additional 14,225 shares during the period. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in Alliant Energy by 92.7% in the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company's stock worth $97,363,000 after purchasing an additional 771,919 shares during the period. 79.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

NASDAQ LNT traded down $0.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $59.47. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,107,633 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,362,455. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $59.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $59.28. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a 1 year low of $46.80 and a 1 year high of $64.19. The company has a market capitalization of $15.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.05, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.60.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 31st will be paid a $0.5075 dividend. This is an increase from Alliant Energy's previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.41%. Alliant Energy's payout ratio is presently 78.68%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

LNT has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank cut Alliant Energy from a "sector outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Barclays dropped their target price on Alliant Energy from $61.00 to $59.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, November 4th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $63.39.

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.