MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. Has $3.55 Million Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 39,858 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 12,956 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,553,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. raised its stake in Ameren by 14.7% during the fourth quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 193,008 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $17,205,000 after acquiring an additional 24,766 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in Ameren by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,601,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,174,000 after acquiring an additional 39,455 shares in the last quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP raised its stake in Ameren by 61.7% during the fourth quarter. Hudson Bay Capital Management LP now owns 401,390 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,780,000 after acquiring an additional 153,117 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth raised its stake in Ameren by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 31,089 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,812,000 after acquiring an additional 1,081 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ethic Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $503,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $98.83 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $98.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.01. 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 firm has a market cap of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a PEG 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.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS 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 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $101.80.

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.