Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Position in ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE - Free Report) by 6.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 62,269 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 4,292 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned approximately 0.11% of ALLETE worth $4,035,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in ALLETE in the fourth quarter worth about $380,000. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of ALLETE by 15.7% in the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 6,311 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $409,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its stake in shares of ALLETE by 16.5% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 352,124 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,818,000 after purchasing an additional 49,993 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in ALLETE by 1.6% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,395,362 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $89,584,000 after buying an additional 21,850 shares during the period. Finally, Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in ALLETE in the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,378,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.55% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

ALLETE Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALE stock traded down $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $64.72. 248,329 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 375,272. The stock's fifty day moving average is $65.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $64.99. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $58.09 and a 52-week high of $65.99. The stock has a market cap of $3.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.88 and a beta of 0.69.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share (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 business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were issued a dividend of $0.73 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 14th. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.51%. This is an increase from ALLETE's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE's dividend payout ratio is 94.19%.

ALLETE Profile

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.