Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC Sells 3,376 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lessened its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 30.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 7,887 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 3,376 shares during the quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $703,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 20.7% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 32,682 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,913,000 after buying an additional 5,595 shares during the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 4,993 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 702 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 235.3% in the fourth quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 75,912 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $6,767,000 after buying an additional 53,273 shares during the last quarter. Morton Community Bank bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $347,000. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $295,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.05 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $100.01. 1,890,323 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,763,878. The firm has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. 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 50-day moving average of $96.50 and a 200 day moving average of $91.28. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10.

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Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.84%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays lifted their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $94.10.

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.