Russell Investments Group Ltd. Acquires 77,113 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 59.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 207,412 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 77,113 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.08% of Ameren worth $18,489,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,087 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,374,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the period. IHT Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $223,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its holdings in Ameren by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 35,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,121,000 after acquiring an additional 1,144 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $286,000. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 174,840 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $15,291,000 after purchasing an additional 63,993 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents 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 Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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Ameren Stock Up 0.5 %

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $99.50. 331,666 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,589. The stock has a market cap of $26.86 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $98.45 and a 200 day moving average of $93.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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 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 company posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. Barclays decreased their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.22.

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.