First Business Financial Services Inc. Invests $994,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

First Business Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 11,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $994,000.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 13.5% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,801,000 after buying an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $12,837,000 after buying an additional 8,573 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,996,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Finally, NorthRock Partners LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, hitting $98.55. The company had a trading volume of 2,539,296 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,793. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average of $94.85 and a 200 day moving average of $90.34. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict 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. Investors 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 represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays lifted 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. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target 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. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $93.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

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.