Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 693,556 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,448 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. owned 0.26% of Ameren worth $50,172,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position 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 worth $6,604,406,000 after acquiring an additional 74,200,015 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,978,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,810,808,000 after acquiring an additional 681,658 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 8.0% during the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,302,326,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,187 shares in the last quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 22.9% during the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,453,000 after acquiring an additional 2,200,700 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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 worth $536,784,000 after acquiring an additional 72,535 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $73.88 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $71.85 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.51. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $91.18. The stock 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 company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 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 analysts’ consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America increased their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective on 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, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.40.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 $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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.