Envestnet Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 4.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 94,351 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 4,080 shares during the quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $8,410,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.09 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $98.72. The company's stock had a trading volume of 90,557 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,581,253. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The firm's 50 day moving average is $98.55 and its 200-day moving average is $93.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm has a market cap of $26.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays cut their price target 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. 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, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.22.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.