Quantinno Capital Management LP Buys 12,420 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 33.1% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,954 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,420 shares during the quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP's holdings in Ameren were worth $4,453,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $351,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $784,000. NorthRock Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 83.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 5,699 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $508,000 after purchasing an additional 2,592 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 76.7% in the fourth quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $190,250,000 after purchasing an additional 926,126 shares during the period. Finally, MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 48.2% in the fourth quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 39,858 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $3,553,000 after purchasing an additional 12,956 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.93 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $96.33. 1,451,852 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,566,913. The company has a market capitalization of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $98.00 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.22.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its 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 business 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 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp upgraded 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. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.