2,683 Shares in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Purchased by Armis Advisers LLC

Armis Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,683 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $239,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its position 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 last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Trading Up 0.8%

AEE traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, hitting $96.04. 1,042,039 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,560,578. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $97.78 and a 200 day moving average of $95.33.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 62.97%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. KeyCorp upgraded shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim restated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays lifted their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Four research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.90.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business'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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This 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.

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.