Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Wells Fargo & Company MN

Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1,732.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,068,505 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 2,901,047 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN owned approximately 1.15% of Ameren worth $273,527,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,149,221,000 after purchasing an additional 334,752 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $600,157,000 after buying an additional 77,282 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in Ameren by 116.0% in the fourth quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 2,357,876 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $210,181,000 after acquiring an additional 1,266,051 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,939,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $172,907,000 after acquiring an additional 38,939 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,696,831 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $151,256,000 after purchasing an additional 43,289 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Ameren Stock Up 0.7 %

Shares of AEE stock traded up $0.72 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $97.44. 1,321,307 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,574,852. 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 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. The company's 50 day moving average is $98.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.02.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS 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 dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a positive change 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 2.91%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.