ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) Shares Sold by Alpine Associates Management Inc.

Alpine Associates Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of ALLETE, Inc. (NYSE:ALE) by 3.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 383,847 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 14,200 shares during the period. ALLETE makes up approximately 1.5% of Alpine Associates Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. Alpine Associates Management Inc. owned 0.66% of ALLETE worth $24,873,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALE. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in ALLETE by 11.5% during the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,070 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $454,000 after purchasing an additional 731 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in ALLETE by 7.3% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 6,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 455 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in ALLETE by 7.3% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 15,963 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,026,000 after buying an additional 1,086 shares in the last quarter. Stiles Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in ALLETE during the third quarter worth about $204,000. Finally, CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new stake in ALLETE in the third quarter worth about $1,109,000. 76.55% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

ALLETE Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALE opened at $65.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $3.78 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07 and a beta of 0.74. 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 $65.44 and a 200-day moving average of $64.67. ALLETE, Inc. has a one year low of $56.66 and a one year high of $65.99.

ALLETE (NYSE:ALE) last announced its 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 net margin of 11.72% and a return on equity of 5.97%.

ALLETE Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Saturday, March 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 14th were given a $0.73 dividend. This is an increase from ALLETE’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. This represents a $2.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.47%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 14th. ALLETE’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 94.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of ALLETE in a research note on Friday, January 10th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock.

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.