Hartree Partners LP Purchases Shares of 38,350 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Hartree Partners LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 38,350 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,419,000. Ameren comprises 1.3% of Hartree Partners LP's holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest position.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 7.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $886,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. 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 quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE traded up $1.15 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $101.99. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,107,941 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,790,010. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $27.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.07, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $98.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.78%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

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.