Raymond James Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 217,259 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $19,367,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.08% of Ameren at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $600,157,000 after purchasing an additional 77,282 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $460,917,000 after buying an additional 2,539,129 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1,732.4% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $273,527,000 after buying an additional 2,901,047 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 116.0% during the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,357,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $210,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266,051 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,939,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,907,000 after purchasing an additional 38,939 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE traded down $0.70 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.22. The company's stock had a trading volume of 195,245 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,813,748. The stock's 50-day moving average is $98.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.51 billion, a PE ratio of 22.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEE. Barclays lowered their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.22.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

About Ameren

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.