1,350 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Purchased by Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc.

Wingate Wealth Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 1,350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $120,000.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Cedar Mountain Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren during the third quarter worth about $56,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock opened at $97.05 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $97.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $91.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $87.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $25.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.