Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Great Lakes Advisors LLC

Great Lakes Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 106,750 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,445 shares during the period. Great Lakes Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $9,516,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its position in Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC increased its position in Ameren by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $683,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business'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 sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and boosted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $93.40.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Friday, reaching $99.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,827,679 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,422,691. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 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 market capitalization of $26.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $95.77 and a 200-day moving average price of $90.90.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is presently 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.