Voya Investment Management LLC Sells 28,978 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Voya Investment Management LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 24.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 87,931 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 28,978 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $7,838,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

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

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % 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 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.5 %

NYSE:AEE traded up $1.45 on Friday, hitting $99.54. The stock had a trading volume of 2,663,914 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,593,368. 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 $104.10. The business's fifty day moving average is $98.64 and its 200 day moving average is $94.18. The company has a market cap of $26.87 billion, a PE ratio of 22.52, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.45.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect 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 was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.85%. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted 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. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $105.00 to $106.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $101.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $99.33.

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.