Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. Sells 47,365 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. cut its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 179,673 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 47,365 shares during the quarter. Tortoise Capital Advisors L.L.C. owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $16,016,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price 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. Barclays cut their price target on Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.22.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.55 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $98.60. The company had a trading volume of 1,055,013 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,587,159. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

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.