Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Empire Life Investments Inc.

Empire Life Investments Inc. reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 5.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 183,638 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 10,851 shares during the period. Empire Life Investments Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Ameren worth $16,369,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $83,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.32 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.03. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,114,847 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,554,748. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $92.31 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. 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 1-year low of $69.31 and a 1-year high of $100.61.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.90%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Ameren Company 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.