Heartland Bank & Trust Co Makes New $451,000 Investment in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Heartland Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,497 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $451,000.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 74.5% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Down 1.3%

AEE traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.15. The company had a trading volume of 2,028,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,575,099. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $96.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.76. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.10, a PEG ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

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 analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.98 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders 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 2.98%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is 62.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.64.

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.