Bank of Montreal Can Has $34.42 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bank of Montreal Can reduced its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 30.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,081 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 170,842 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.14% of Ameren worth $34,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Polymer Capital Management US LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $2,674,000. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 5.9% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 23,143 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,295 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $460,917,000 after buying an additional 2,539,129 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $73,000. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its position in Ameren by 59.2% during the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 207,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $18,489,000 after acquiring an additional 77,113 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.4 %

AEE traded up $0.38 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $99.39. The company had a trading volume of 913,211 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,576,073. The company has a market cap of $26.83 billion, a PE ratio of 22.49, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The business has a 50-day moving average of $98.45 and a 200-day moving average of $93.16.

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Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, 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. Stockholders 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 2.86%. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $99.22.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the 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 approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.