Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Corient Private Wealth LLC

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 41,025 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 541 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 1.1 %

Ameren stock opened at $98.89 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $96.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. One 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, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.70.

Ameren 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.