Bank of New York Mellon Corp Reduces Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp reduced its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,645,336 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 42,904 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned approximately 0.62% of Ameren worth $146,665,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after buying an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC lifted its position in 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 in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position 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 purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $101.74 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $101.75. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $93.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.66. The stock has a market cap of $27.46 billion, a PE ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is 60.63%.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. The trade was 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. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently weighed in on AEE. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

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.