UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 231,373 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 23.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,200,397 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 231,373 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.45% of Ameren worth $107,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 27,048,729 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,411,125,000 after acquiring an additional 392,170 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.7% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 17,038,754 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,518,835,000 after purchasing an additional 2,439,811 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,749,446 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $600,157,000 after purchasing an additional 77,282 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 96.5% during the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,170,709 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $460,917,000 after acquiring an additional 2,539,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in Ameren by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,601,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $410,174,000 after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $96.33 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $98.00 and its 200-day moving average price is $95.17. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $69.39 and a 1 year high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price objective on Ameren and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded Ameren from a “sector weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.90.

Ameren Company 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.