AGF Management Ltd. Sells 10,364 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

AGF Management Ltd. lessened its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 27.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,874 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 10,364 shares during the period. AGF Management Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,485,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after buying an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,458,000 after acquiring an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth $320,000. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 21.7% in the third quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 5,231 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $458,000 after purchasing an additional 934 shares during 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 the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $97.91 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $95.56 and a 200-day moving average of $90.72. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. 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 $26.43 billion, a PE ratio of 22.15, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced 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 last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Ameren Company 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.