Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Braun Stacey Associates Inc.

Braun Stacey Associates Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,172 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 5,257 shares during the period. Braun Stacey Associates Inc. owned 0.07% of Ameren worth $18,792,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Quarry LP acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren by 74.5% during the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $38,000. Optiver Holding B.V. increased 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 purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.92 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $95.01. 1,686,346 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,572,724. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $96.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $96.18. The stock has a market cap of $25.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Corporation has a 12-month low of $70.27 and a 12-month high of $104.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.31% and a return on equity of 10.40%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Ameren from $102.00 to $100.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, June 18th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued 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 $101.64.

Ameren 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.