Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 158 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC cut its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 14.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 967 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 158 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $86,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Versor Investments LP bought a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,417,000. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 51.7% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after buying an additional 362,772 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $15,198,000 after buying an additional 126,157 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.4 %

AEE opened at $99.69 on Friday. 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 stock has a market cap of $26.91 billion, a PE ratio of 22.55, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $93.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.51. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $100.61.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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 paid a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.85%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 60.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the director now 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.70.

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.