Prudential Financial Inc. Has $17.40 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 11.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 195,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 20,124 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $17,401,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after acquiring an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its position in Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on AEE. Evercore ISI raised 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. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $96.70.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, 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 of the company's stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business'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 owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.26 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $100.66. 1,853,361 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,540,274. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.86 and a 200 day moving average of $92.32. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost 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 dividend yield of 2.82%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

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.