Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 11.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 426,866 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,803 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.16% of Ameren worth $37,927,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ameren by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,149,221,000 after buying an additional 334,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $581,661,000 after acquiring an additional 127,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 0.9% in the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $398,992,000 after acquiring an additional 39,300 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its position in Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd 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 during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in Ameren by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $202,779,000 after purchasing an additional 479,668 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $102.39. The company had a trading volume of 697,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,783,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $98.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $92.38. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $27.64 billion, a PE ratio of 23.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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 in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase 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 yield of 2.77%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

About Ameren

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.