Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Sells 344,119 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC lessened its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 99.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 3,450 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 344,119 shares during the quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $308,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in Ameren by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 24,669 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,199,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its stake in Ameren by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,659 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,696,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,256,000 after purchasing an additional 43,289 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE traded up $1.41 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $98.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,539,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,793. The company has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company's 50-day moving average is $94.85 and its 200-day moving average is $90.34. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 prior year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.