Point72 Asset Management L.P. Reduces Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 49.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 88,000 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 85,359 shares during the quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P.'s holdings in Ameren were worth $7,844,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Quarry LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded up $0.93 during trading on Friday, reaching $96.33. The company had a trading volume of 1,451,852 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,566,913. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $98.00 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.22. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a PE ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. Ameren's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.95%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp raised shares of Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Guggenheim reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.90.

Ameren 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.