Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.

Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. trimmed its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 90.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,537 shares during the quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $233,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 100,874.2% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,273,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,604,406,000 after acquiring an additional 74,200,015 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 22.9% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,051,453,000 after buying an additional 2,200,700 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,302,326,000 after buying an additional 1,029,187 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,978,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,810,808,000 after acquiring an additional 681,658 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $71.93 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.50. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $91.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on AEE. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.