Lazard Asset Management LLC Sells 37,960 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Lazard Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 96.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,565 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 37,960 shares during the quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $139,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AEE. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Ameren by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 24.7% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,594 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $410,000 after purchasing an additional 910 shares during the last quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 57.0% during the 4th quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,929 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $172,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. RFG Advisory LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 21.2% during the 4th quarter. RFG Advisory LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $394,000 after purchasing an additional 771 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in Ameren by 10.7% during the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 4,923 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $439,000 after purchasing an additional 477 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE traded up $0.25 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $95.57. The stock had a trading volume of 114,982 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,773,968. The company's fifty day moving average is $97.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

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

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price target on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. 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 report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target 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. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average 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.