Bessemer Group Inc. Has $251.18 Million Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,817,764 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 26,857 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. owned about 1.06% of Ameren worth $251,177,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Ameren by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.22.

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Ameren Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.36 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $98.89. 697,851 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,969. The company has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company's 50 day moving average is $98.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.07. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month 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 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 firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % 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, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.