Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.

MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 48.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 39,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock after acquiring an additional 12,956 shares during the quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,553,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 14.4% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares during the period. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in Ameren by 7.6% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $98.83 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.36, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The business's 50-day moving average is $98.22 and its 200-day moving average is $95.01.

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). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.87%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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 directly owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, 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. Insiders sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a 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 for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.80.

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.

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