Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC Sells 344,119 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC trimmed its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 99.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,450 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 344,119 shares during the quarter. Cbre Investment Management Listed Real Assets LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $308,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Down 3.5 %

Ameren stock opened at $100.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $94.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.06.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.