Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Buys 512,429 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,512,770 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 512,429 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 2.54% of Alliant Energy worth $395,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company's stock worth $10,877,000 after purchasing an additional 144,077 shares during the last quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 28.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,245,000 after buying an additional 9,977 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 168.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 51,259 shares of the company's stock valued at $2,583,000 after buying an additional 32,166 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP bought a new stake in Alliant Energy during the second quarter valued at $1,248,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 purchasing an additional 25,161 shares in the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently commented on LNT. Barclays decreased their price objective 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. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Alliant Energy from $58.00 to $64.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 20th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, November 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised Alliant Energy from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research report on Tuesday, August 13th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Alliant Energy from $64.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, September 20th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

LNT traded up $0.12 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $63.32. 1,461,796 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,627,739. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.58. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $46.80 and a 52-week high of $63.63. The company's fifty day moving average price is $60.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $56.07.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.08 billion. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 10.56% and a net margin of 16.66%. Alliant Energy's revenue was up .4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.05 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 31st. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.03%. Alliant Energy's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 74.42%.

Alliant Energy Profile

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.