Toronto Dominion Bank Lowers Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Toronto Dominion Bank lowered its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 18.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 95,433 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 22,239 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank's holdings in Ameren were worth $8,507,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 78.7% in the fourth quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 207 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE AEE traded up $0.65 on Friday, reaching $96.82. The company had a trading volume of 2,370,624 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,557,708. The stock's 50 day moving average is $97.72 and its 200-day moving average is $95.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. 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.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.98 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.93%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays increased their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.90.

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.