US Bancorp DE Has $9.32 Million Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

US Bancorp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 10.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,561 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,858 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in Ameren were worth $9,321,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $461,000. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 77,991 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,952,000 after acquiring an additional 1,954 shares during the period. Prosperitas Financial LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 5.0% during the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 32,784 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,922,000 after acquiring an additional 1,557 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 48,600 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,332,000 after buying an additional 2,909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,180,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $103.71 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $94.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $103.87. The company has a market capitalization of $27.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.46, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share 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 in the prior year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lowered Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.42% 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.