Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Acquires Shares of 22,974 Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 22,974 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,048,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $559,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $886,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI raised 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, Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's 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 completion of the sale, 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 position. 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 three months. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $97.48. 1,295,275 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,579,743. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The firm's fifty day moving average is $98.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $94.58. The company has a market capitalization of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.91%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

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.