Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. Acquires 3,434 Shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 7.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 47,100 shares of the utilities provider's stock after buying an additional 3,434 shares during the period. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,729,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Optiver Holding B.V. lifted its stake 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 buying an additional 207 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Down 1.3%

AEE traded down $1.22 during 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 company has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a PE 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 Corporation has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $96.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $95.76.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released 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). The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. 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, May 14th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $114.00 price objective (up previously from $113.00) on shares of Ameren in a research report on Monday, June 2nd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.