Mizuho Securities USA LLC Boosts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC increased its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 46.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 25,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,997 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,255,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ameren Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $98.88 on Tuesday. 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 company has a market cap of $26.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.37, 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.13 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.67.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (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 period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 is a boost 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted 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 shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.70.

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.