Advisors Asset Management Inc. Sells 2,735 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Advisors Asset Management Inc. trimmed its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 6.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,906 shares of the company’s stock after selling 2,735 shares during the quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $2,360,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Point72 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 92.7% during the 3rd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,604,272 shares of the company’s stock worth $97,363,000 after acquiring an additional 771,919 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,225,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock worth $395,260,000 after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Retirement Systems of Alabama boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 698.3% during the 3rd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 451,477 shares of the company’s stock worth $27,400,000 after acquiring an additional 394,920 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service bought a new position in shares of Alliant Energy during the 4th quarter worth approximately $22,531,000. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ LNT opened at $63.05 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 23.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $61.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $60.52. Alliant Energy Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.23 and a fifty-two week high of $66.54.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 20th. The company reported $0.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.68 by $0.02. Alliant Energy had a return on equity of 11.39% and a net margin of 17.33%. The firm had revenue of $976.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Alliant Energy Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, February 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 31st were issued a dividend of $0.5075 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 31st. This represents a $2.03 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.22%. This is a boost from Alliant Energy’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is 75.46%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on LNT. Scotiabank downgraded Alliant Energy from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $64.00 to $67.00 in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $57.00 price target on shares of Alliant Energy in a report on Monday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Alliant Energy from $60.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $63.55.

Alliant Energy Company Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.