By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lessened its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE – Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,809 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,966 shares during the quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned 0.05% of Ameren worth $12,870,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Bleakley Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 15.9% in the 3rd quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $549,000 after buying an additional 860 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 9.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 30,671 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,682,000 after acquiring an additional 2,561 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 77.5% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 3,410 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,489 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 129,727 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $11,346,000 after purchasing an additional 8,540 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Powers Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $226,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %
Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $98.01 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $68.60 and a 52-week high of $100.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $92.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $88.44. The firm has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.
Ameren (NYSE:AEE – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.52%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Ameren Increases Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is 64.25%.
Insider Transactions at Ameren
In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.00.
Read Our Latest Stock Report on AEE
Ameren Profile
Ameren Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a public utility holding company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, and Ameren Transmission. It engages in the rate-regulated electric generation, transmission, and distribution activities; and rate-regulated natural gas distribution business.
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