Signaturefd LLC Acquires 125 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $559,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes 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 valued at $1,149,221,000 after acquiring an additional 334,752 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 1.9% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $581,661,000 after purchasing an additional 127,287 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 0.9% during the third quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $398,992,000 after purchasing an additional 39,300 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in Ameren by 59.8% in the third 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 last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 26.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $202,779,000 after buying an additional 479,668 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $100.13 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $96.50 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.28. The company has a market cap of $27.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.65, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted 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 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently 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.