The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 124,628 Shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company reduced its stake in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC - Free Report) TSE: TA by 13.4% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 805,003 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 124,628 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.27% of TransAlta worth $8,351,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the third quarter valued at about $42,000. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new stake in TransAlta during the second quarter valued at about $64,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the second quarter worth about $79,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of TransAlta from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Desjardins reissued a "hold" rating on shares of TransAlta in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th.

TransAlta Trading Up 1.3 %

NYSE:TAC traded up $0.15 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $11.68. The company had a trading volume of 857,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 767,444. The company has a market capitalization of $3.49 billion, a PE ratio of 31.57 and a beta of 0.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $10.51 and a 200 day moving average price of $8.78. TransAlta Co. has a 52 week low of $5.94 and a 52 week high of $11.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.94, a current ratio of 0.74 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

TransAlta Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 1st. Stockholders of record on Sunday, December 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.044 per share. This represents a $0.18 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 29th. TransAlta's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 48.65%.

About TransAlta

TransAlta Corporation engages in the development, production, and sale of electric energy. It operates through Hydro, Wind and Solar, Gas, Energy Transition, and Energy Marketing segments. The Hydro segment holds interest of approximately 922 megawatts (MW) of owned hydroelectric generating capacity located in Alberta, British Columbia, and Ontario.