3,669 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Acquired by Symmetry Partners LLC

Symmetry Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 3,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $327,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 21.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares in the last quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 13.8% in the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 41,320 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after purchasing an additional 5,016 shares in the last quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 6.1% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 76,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,650,000 after purchasing an additional 4,378 shares in the last quarter. Swiss National Bank boosted its position in Ameren by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 791,400 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $69,216,000 after acquiring an additional 2,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Meeder Advisory Services Inc. boosted its position in Ameren by 21.8% during the 3rd quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. now owns 6,841 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after acquiring an additional 1,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEE. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Barclays increased their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

Ameren stock opened at $100.13 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.28.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.84%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

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.