Jennison Associates LLC Sells 27,488 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Jennison Associates LLC trimmed its Ameren stake by 1.9%, selling 27,488 shares and retaining 1,440,327 shares worth about $143.8M, while institutional investors now own roughly 79.09% of the stock.
• Ameren beat quarterly EPS estimates with $0.78 (vs. $0.77) and $1.78B in revenue (down 8.2% YoY) and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 (annualized $3.00, ~2.7% yield).
• Analyst sentiment is generally positive — the stock carries an average rating of Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $117.31 after several firms raised price targets.

Jennison Associates LLC cut its position in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 1.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,440,327 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 27,488 shares during the quarter. Jennison Associates LLC owned 0.53% of Ameren worth $143,831,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 68.6% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,080,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $425,951,000 after acquiring an additional 1,661,019 shares during the last quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd raised its position in shares of Ameren by 104,698.0% during the third quarter. ANTIPODES PARTNERS Ltd now owns 1,370,758 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $143,091,000 after acquiring an additional 1,369,450 shares during the last quarter. Homestead Advisers Corp bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $76,614,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 9,966.5% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 518,725 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $51,800,000 after acquiring an additional 513,572 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Reaves W H & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 112.4% during the third quarter. Reaves W H & Co. Inc. now owns 964,012 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $100,624,000 after acquiring an additional 510,192 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.60, for a total value of $673,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 193,076 shares in the company, valued at $20,002,673.60. This trade represents a 3.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $112.99 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35, a quick ratio of 0.46 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $93.27 and a 52 week high of $115.53. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.99 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $105.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $31.26 billion, a PE ratio of 21.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 0.52.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The firm had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.77 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 5.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.7%. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 56.07%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Truist Financial assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Monday, April 20th. They set a "buy" rating and a $126.00 target price for the company. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $104.00 to $116.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $111.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $120.00 target price on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $117.31.

Ameren Profile

Ameren Corporation NYSE: AEE is an integrated energy company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri, that provides electric and natural gas delivery and related services in portions of Missouri and Illinois. The company operates regulated utility businesses that serve a broad mix of residential, commercial and industrial customers, and it participates in wholesale energy markets and transmission operations that support reliable service across its service territories.

Ameren's core activities include generation, transmission and distribution of electricity, distribution of natural gas, and the provision of customer energy solutions such as demand-side management and energy efficiency programs.

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