Vise Technologies Inc. Invests $244,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Vise Technologies Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,732 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $244,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth 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 during the period. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 137 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays raised their price objective 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Four investment 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $101.90.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7%

AEE traded up $0.65 during trading on Friday, hitting $96.82. 2,370,624 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,564,119. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $97.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 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.