Spire Wealth Management Reduces Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Spire Wealth Management reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 16.4% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 5,300 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,042 shares during the quarter. Spire Wealth Management’s holdings in Ameren were worth $472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 4.2% during the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $896,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $96.63 on Thursday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $97.29. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $91.36 and a 200 day moving average of $87.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.74, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 205,171 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. This represents a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays lowered shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted 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 data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.00.

About Ameren

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.