Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Increased by Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 80,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $7,184,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC grew its position in Ameren by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its position in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB boosted its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Ameren Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $100.69 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $92.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.82%. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

About Ameren

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.