Insider Selling: Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Insider Sells 4,743 Shares of Stock

Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $3.66 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $100.01. The company had a trading volume of 2,791,420 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,425,040. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $106.06. The company has a 50 day moving average of $94.39 and a 200-day moving average of $90.06. The firm 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 0.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.84%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, December 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Ameren

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 5.7% in the 3rd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,832 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,385,000 after purchasing an additional 857 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,253 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the last quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 13.8% in the 3rd quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 18,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.2% in the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $12,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,573 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

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.