Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Reduces Holdings in Ameren Corporation $AEE

Key Points

• Massachusetts Financial Services Co. trimmed its Ameren stake by 5.3% in Q4, selling 95,129 shares and finishing the quarter with 1,692,149 shares (about 0.63% ownership) valued at $168.98 million.
• Ameren raised its quarterly dividend to $0.75 ($3.00 annualized), implying a ~2.6% yield and a dividend payout ratio of 56.07%.
• Several analysts boosted price targets (UBS, BMO, Wells Fargo, BTIG among others), but the MarketBeat consensus is still an average "Hold" with a $114.92 target price.

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA cut its stake in shares of Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 5.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,692,149 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 95,129 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.63% of Ameren worth $168,978,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,050,000. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,097,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 119.0% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 77,315 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $8,070,000 after buying an additional 42,004 shares during the period. SteelPeak Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,102,000. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 3.6% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 3,378,053 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $352,601,000 after buying an additional 116,819 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Ameren from $125.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 20th. BTIG Research assumed coverage on Ameren in a report on Thursday. They issued a "buy" rating and a $131.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ameren from $111.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Ameren in a report on Friday, February 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $112.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.92.

Ameren Trading Up 0.0%

AEE opened at $113.46 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $31.39 billion, a PE ratio of 21.21, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $109.75 and a 200-day moving average of $105.02. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $93.27 and a 52 week high of $115.53.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The utilities provider reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.77 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $1.78 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.69 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.69% and a net margin of 16.55%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was down 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.77 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Ameren Corporation will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 10th were paid a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 10th. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.71. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 56.07%.

Insider Activity 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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.29% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Ameren

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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