Deutsche Bank AG Boosts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 58.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 798,160 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 294,512 shares during the quarter. Deutsche Bank AG owned about 0.30% of Ameren worth $71,148,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DC Investments Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $742,000. Dean Capital Management increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 23,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $2,068,000 after acquiring an additional 365 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its position in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Ameren by 43.6% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 4,192 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $374,000 after buying an additional 1,273 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beck Bode LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $762,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of AEE traded up $1.17 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $97.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,254,623 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,574,348. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The firm has a market cap of $26.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $98.19 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.73.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business'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 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.80.

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.