T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 16.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,439,811 shares during the quarter. Ameren makes up 0.9% of T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 17th largest position. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. owned 6.38% of Ameren worth $1,518,835,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Ameren by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded down $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $98.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,488,589 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,588,056. The company has a market capitalization of $26.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.24, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $98.57 and its 200-day moving average price is $93.76. 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 current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value 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 approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last quarter. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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