Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Asset Management One Co. Ltd.

Asset Management One Co. Ltd. trimmed its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 142,809 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,966 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. owned about 0.05% of Ameren worth $12,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $83,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.83 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $97.07. 2,594,278 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,248. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.91 billion, a PE ratio of 21.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.49. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $92.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $88.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $100.61.

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 (EPS) 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 period in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 60.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays lowered Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $92.70.

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.