Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by TD Private Client Wealth LLC

TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 122 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in shares of Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after buying an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $683,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.70.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $97.17 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.98, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $97.28 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.92%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.