Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Rothschild Investment LLC

Rothschild Investment LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 15,806 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 172 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,409,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in shares of 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 during the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $74,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of AEE opened at $98.78 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $93.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.24. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $100.61. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.35, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. 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 2.88%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.