Xponance Inc. Sells 1,190 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Xponance Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 35,516 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,190 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. FMR LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 59.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 484.8% during the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 637,241 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $55,733,000 after purchasing an additional 528,270 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in Ameren by 26.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 479,668 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 42.1% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 1,469,037 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $130,950,000 after purchasing an additional 434,889 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Ameren by 51.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $100.01 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $26.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.63, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $96.71 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.34.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors 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 yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 64.25%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related 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 transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on AEE. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $94.10.

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.