6,310 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Acquired by Three Seasons Wealth LLC

Three Seasons Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 6,310 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $232,000. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $499,000. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. lifted its stake in Ameren by 841.4% in the 4th quarter. Adage Capital Partners GP L.L.C. now owns 249,390 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $22,231,000 after buying an additional 222,900 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,518,835,000 after buying an additional 2,439,811 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,048,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,411,125,000 after buying an additional 392,170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $99.33.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $98.83. 1,203,210 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,588,064. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 previous year, the company posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.