ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Acquired by Neuberger Berman Group LLC

Neuberger Berman Group LLC raised its position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 8.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 398,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 30,479 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC owned approximately 0.69% of ALLETE worth $25,825,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ALE. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the fourth quarter valued at about $3,522,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of ALLETE by 14.2% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 331,472 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $21,479,000 after purchasing an additional 41,315 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in ALLETE by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 11,173 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 1,289 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its position in ALLETE by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 27,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,800,000 after buying an additional 706 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 7.0% in the 4th quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 28,917 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,874,000 after acquiring an additional 1,902 shares during the last quarter. 76.55% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of ALE traded down $0.07 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $65.00. 495,743 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 374,156. ALLETE, Inc. has a 1-year low of $56.66 and a 1-year high of $65.99. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.39 and a 200-day moving average of $64.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.50, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 1.08. The stock has a market cap of $3.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.97 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a return on equity of 5.97% and a net margin of 11.72%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th were given a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. This is a positive change from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 4.49%. ALLETE's payout ratio is presently 94.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.