CFC Planning Co LLC Buys Shares of 2,787 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

CFC Planning Co LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,787 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $248,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Arcus Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $908,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Kentucky Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $1,414,000. Finally, Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $120,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

NYSE AEE traded up $0.21 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $98.28. 2,043,732 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,536,682. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $92.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $88.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 0.63 and a quick ratio of 0.41. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.31 and a 12-month high of $100.61. The firm has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.12, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.09% and a net margin of 15.52%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS 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 issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.89%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of 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 report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays cut Ameren from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and increased their target price for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. One research 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $92.70.

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.