Woodline Partners LP Invests $1.43 Million in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 16,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,429,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. TD Private Client Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Ameren by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 10,107 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $901,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. boosted its position in Ameren by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $886,000 after buying an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its position in Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm's 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 completion of 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. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $95.30. 1,106,931 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,562,796. 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 Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The stock has a market cap of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $97.85 and a 200-day moving average price of $95.33.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The firm 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%. The firm's revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.98 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.98%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 62.97%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. KeyCorp raised Ameren from a "sector weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $103.00 target price for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $102.00 price objective on shares of Ameren and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Four 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $101.90.

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.