Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Purchased by UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 23.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,200,397 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 231,373 shares during the quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC owned about 0.45% of Ameren worth $107,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Woodline Partners LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,429,000. Vident Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,455 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $754,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 3,850 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $343,000 after purchasing an additional 483 shares during the last quarter. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $10,901,000. Finally, Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,061,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE AEE traded up $0.35 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $96.65. The company had a trading volume of 993,631 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,564,620. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The firm's 50 day moving average is $97.92 and its 200 day moving average is $95.33.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 62.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 target price on Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, May 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays upped their target price 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 assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $101.90.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 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. The trade was a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.