3,669 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Purchased by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Monday, hitting $98.88. 1,146,679 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,438,066. The firm's fifty day moving average is $97.13 and its 200-day moving average is $91.67. The stock has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

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.