Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 59,585 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 3,073 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Ameren were worth $5,311,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 0.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 6.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,019,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Ameren by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.5% during the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on AEE. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.89.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

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

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock opened at $94.32 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $98.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.67. The stock has a market cap of $25.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. 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.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. Ameren’s revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.01%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

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.