Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,696,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 43,289 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.64% of Ameren worth $151,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP acquired a new position in Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,417,000. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC purchased a new position in Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,682,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in Ameren by 51.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. 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, February 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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 upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE traded down $0.58 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $97.97. 2,232,716 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,430,281. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $26.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.04 and a 200 day moving average of $90.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

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.