Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Sells 227,730 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lessened its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 2,870,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 227,730 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in Ameren were worth $255,860,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $98.64 on Friday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.87. The company has a market cap of $26.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. 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 twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted 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 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.70.

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.