Wellington Management Group LLP Makes New $998,000 Investment in TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC)

Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta Co. (NYSE:TAC) (TSE:TA) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor acquired 96,206 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $998,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Financial Management Professionals Inc. acquired a new stake in TransAlta in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TransAlta by 1,381.5% in the second quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,237 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 3,951 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of TransAlta during the third quarter valued at about $61,000. Evergreen Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of TransAlta during the second quarter worth about $72,000. Finally, Sage Rhino Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of TransAlta in the 2nd quarter worth about $79,000. 59.00% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

TAC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded TransAlta from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Scotiabank upgraded TransAlta to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Desjardins reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of TransAlta in a report on Wednesday, November 6th.

TransAlta Stock Down 0.4 %

TAC opened at $13.91 on Friday. TransAlta Co. has a fifty-two week low of $5.94 and a fifty-two week high of $14.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.60 and a beta of 0.91. The company’s 50-day moving average is $11.18 and its 200 day moving average is $9.25. 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 Cuts Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Saturday, March 1st will be given a dividend of $0.0423 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 28th. This represents a $0.17 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.22%. TransAlta’s dividend payout ratio is currently 45.95%.

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.