Braun Stacey Associates Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. trimmed its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 192,429 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,533 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $17,153,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its position 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 worth $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 4.2% during the third quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its holdings 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 buying an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.7% during the third quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after buying an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $98.01 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a PE ratio of 23.06, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.04 and its 200 day moving average price is $88.51. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $68.60 and a twelve month high of $100.62.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released 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 net margin of 15.52% and a return on equity of 10.09%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.