Simplicity Solutions LLC Sells 1,044 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Simplicity Solutions LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 17.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,066 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,044 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $366,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 100,874.2% during 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 buying an additional 74,200,015 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,978,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,810,808,000 after purchasing an additional 681,658 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,302,326,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,187 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 22.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 2,200,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 1.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,213,494 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,784,000 after buying an additional 72,535 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $73.88 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $91.18. The company has a market capitalization of $19.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.44 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.85 and a 200 day moving average of $73.51. 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 issued its earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.63%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

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.