Mizuho Securities USA LLC Buys 7,997 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 46.2% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 25,299 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,997 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,255,000 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. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $98.88 on Tuesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $97.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $91.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10.

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 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 previous year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $96.70.

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.