Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by TD Private Client Wealth LLC

TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 7.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 122 shares during the quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $165,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. CWA Asset Management Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.7% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC now owns 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $683,000 after acquiring an additional 158 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of 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 shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $97.17 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $97.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The company has a market cap of $26.23 billion, a PE ratio of 21.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 2.92%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.