Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stock Position Lifted by Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD

Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,048,729 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 392,170 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD owned approximately 10.13% of Ameren worth $2,411,125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $38,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.27 during trading on Monday, reaching $98.55. 261,811 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,584,368. The business's 50-day moving average price is $98.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $93.87. The company has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve 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.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced 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 last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $99.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, 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 sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Corporate insiders own 0.42% 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.