Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Holdings Lifted by Geode Capital Management LLC

Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 77,282 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC owned 2.53% of Ameren worth $600,157,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after buying an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $93,134,000 after acquiring an additional 362,772 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,149,221,000 after acquiring an additional 334,752 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings in Ameren by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 174,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,291,000 after purchasing an additional 63,993 shares in the last quarter. Finally, U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $317,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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Ameren Stock Up 2.4 %

NYSE AEE traded up $2.29 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $96.52. 2,418,353 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,571,055. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.84, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a 50 day moving average of $98.35 and a two-hundred day moving average of $92.87.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.94%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.60.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, 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 transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.