Signaturefd LLC Sells 1,246 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 19.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,108 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,246 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $370,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter valued at $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 124.5% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 64.9% during the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after buying an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ameren Stock Up 0.1 %

Ameren stock opened at $74.76 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $19.92 billion, a PE ratio of 17.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $90.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.55.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

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.