Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stock Position Lifted by Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 9,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $886,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 7.1% during the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $165,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its position in Ameren by 16.3% in the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares during the period. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $98.86 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $26.68 billion, a PE ratio of 22.37, 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. 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 fifty day simple moving average of $97.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $91.82.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.60 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced 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 is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $96.70.

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.