Advisory Services Network LLC Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Advisory Services Network LLC acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 2,904 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $259,000.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on AEE. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.22.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % 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 worth $1,316,712 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE AEE traded up $0.65 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $99.28. 157,362 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,581,606. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $98.55 and a 200-day moving average of $93.60. 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 Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.79 billion, a PE ratio of 22.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

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.