Mariner LLC Acquires 9,294 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mariner LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 33.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,148 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 9,294 shares during the period. Mariner LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $3,311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 496,616 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $44,268,000 after buying an additional 6,681 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 24.2% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 6,203 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $553,000 after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 55.5% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 15,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,406,000 after buying an additional 5,626 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 117,009 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $10,430,000 after buying an additional 730 shares during the last quarter. Finally, DRW Securities LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. DRW Securities LLC now owns 98,300 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $8,762,000 after buying an additional 673 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE traded down $0.59 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $98.33. The company had a trading volume of 698,574 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,585,388. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. 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 has a market cap of $26.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.27, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $93.68.

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 for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates 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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.89%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AEE shares. UBS Group upped their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.22.

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.