Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Purchases 512,429 Shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 8.5% during the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,512,770 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 512,429 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $395,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in Alliant Energy by 200.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 215,821 shares of the company’s stock valued at $10,877,000 after buying an additional 144,077 shares during the period. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Alliant Energy by 28.9% during the first quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC now owns 44,537 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,245,000 after purchasing an additional 9,977 shares in the last quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 168.5% during the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 51,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,583,000 after purchasing an additional 32,166 shares in the last quarter. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,248,000. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Alliant Energy by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,183,765 shares of the company’s stock worth $71,839,000 after buying an additional 101,387 shares during the last quarter. 79.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $52.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 4th. LADENBURG THALM/SH SH raised shares of Alliant Energy from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $50.00 to $62.50 in a research note on Tuesday, August 13th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $65.00 to $61.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $66.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Alliant Energy in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $67.00 price objective for the company. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Alliant Energy currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $63.06.

Alliant Energy Stock Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $63.05 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.33. Alliant Energy Co. has a twelve month low of $46.80 and a twelve month high of $63.27. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $60.21 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.98. The company has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.58.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 31st. The company reported $1.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.10 by $0.05. Alliant Energy had a net margin of 16.66% and a return on equity of 10.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.08 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.05 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.04 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 31st were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 31st. Alliant Energy’s dividend payout ratio is currently 74.42%.

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.