Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by California State Teachers Retirement System

California State Teachers Retirement System lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 4.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 317,395 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 14,059 shares during the quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.12% of Ameren worth $28,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. raised 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 in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.7%

AEE stock traded up $0.65 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $96.82. 2,370,624 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,564,119. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The company has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $97.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.39. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The business's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given 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 2.93%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company 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 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.90.

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.