Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $10.01 Million Position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 41.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 99,686 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 70,744 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Ameren were worth $10,008,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Quarry LP bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. ORG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 74.5% in the first quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 349 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. lifted 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. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Ameren from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $91.00 to $100.00 in a report on Wednesday, June 25th. 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. Finally, KeyCorp raised 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.64.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock traded up $0.33 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 931,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,578,812. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $96.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $95.94. Ameren Corporation has a 1-year low of $70.15 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a PEG ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.49, a current ratio of 0.86 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.40% and a net margin of 15.31%. The business's revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.98 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th were given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.95%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

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.