Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Has $151.26 Million Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,696,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 43,289 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned 0.64% of Ameren worth $151,256,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Ameren by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,149,221,000 after buying an additional 334,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after buying an additional 127,287 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $398,992,000 after buying an additional 39,300 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Ameren by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,779,000 after buying an additional 479,668 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.5 %

Ameren stock opened at $98.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a PE ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $94.85 and a 200-day moving average of $90.28.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently commented on AEE. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. One 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

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.