ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. lessened its stake in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 306 shares during the quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in ALLETE were worth $1,072,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Longfellow Investment Management Co. LLC acquired a new position in shares of ALLETE during the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its holdings in shares of ALLETE by 32.9% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 217 shares during the period. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. boosted its stake in ALLETE by 31.0% during the third quarter. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. now owns 1,563 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $100,000 after buying an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV grew its holdings in ALLETE by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,431 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 928 shares during the period. Finally, Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its position in ALLETE by 14.8% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 3,135 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $201,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.55% of the company’s stock.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $65.44 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.79 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11 and a beta of 0.80. 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 fifty day moving average of $65.25 and a 200-day moving average of $64.56. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $55.86 and a one year high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The utilities provider reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by ($0.15). ALLETE had a net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Saturday, March 1st. Investors of record on Friday, February 14th will be given a $0.73 dividend. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.46%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 14th. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio is 94.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.