Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by Parallel Advisors LLC

Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 24.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,843 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 961 shares during the quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $432,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its position in shares of Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $683,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 43,666 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,892,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 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 value of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 over the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of 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 price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group lifted 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $98.89 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $96.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $91.45. 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 (NYSE:AEE) last released 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 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.