Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Wealthfront Advisers LLC

Wealthfront Advisers LLC increased its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 235.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 53,273 shares during the quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $6,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Ameren by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Ameren by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $15,198,000 after purchasing an additional 126,157 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $97.44 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.67. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.40.

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.

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