Natixis Cuts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Natixis lowered its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 89.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 462 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,790 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Ameren were worth $41,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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 approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on AEE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.33.

Ameren Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of AEE traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $99.29. 979,955 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,585,641. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.59 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $93.95. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.80 billion, a PE ratio of 22.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

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 in the prior year, the business earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.