46,888 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Bought by Proficio Capital Partners LLC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 46,888 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,180,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $230,158,000 after acquiring an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in 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 during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,198,000 after acquiring an additional 126,157 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $1.09 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $98.89. 3,577,157 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,438,310. The company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.34.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. 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

Several research firms have recently weighed in on AEE. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $96.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company 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.