Squarepoint Ops LLC Sells 84,625 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Squarepoint Ops LLC decreased its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 65.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 44,796 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 84,625 shares during the period. Squarepoint Ops LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $3,993,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $42,849,000 after acquiring an additional 1,856 shares during the period. RFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 21.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Ameren by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $896,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 4,195 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $374,000 after purchasing an additional 1,387 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TI Trust Inc. increased its position in Ameren by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. TI Trust Inc. now owns 11,516 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $1,027,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of NYSE AEE traded up $0.72 during trading on Thursday, reaching $96.04. The company had a trading volume of 1,042,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,560,578. The business's 50-day moving average is $97.78 and its 200 day moving average is $95.33. The stock has a market cap of $25.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.73, a P/E/G 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.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.98 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's payout ratio is 62.97%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $101.90.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale 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 firm's 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 in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. The trade was a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.