Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Barclays PLC

Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 496,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 6,681 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 0.19% of Ameren worth $44,268,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in 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 worth $559,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $886,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake 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 valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $98.31 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a PE ratio of 22.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $93.31.

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 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.89%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped 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, March 20th. 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 note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.22.

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.

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