USS Investment Management Ltd Has $4.09 Million Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

USS Investment Management Ltd lowered its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 40.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 45,839 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,625 shares during the period. USS Investment Management Ltd's holdings in Ameren were worth $4,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 14.4% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $907,000 after acquiring an additional 1,282 shares in the last quarter. U.S. Capital Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ameren by 7.6% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 82,061 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $7,315,000 after purchasing an additional 5,808 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $19,367,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, 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 directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This 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 insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE:AEE traded up $0.43 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $96.73. The stock had a trading volume of 434,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,791,725. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $26.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.89, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $97.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.33.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released 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). The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. Ameren's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on AEE shares. 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 report on Tuesday, May 6th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reiterated a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Ameren from $108.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price target on Ameren and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.90.

Ameren Company 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.