Mufg Securities Americas Inc. Makes New Investment in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 3,941 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $351,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Quarry LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Optiver Holding B.V. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 78.7% during the 4th quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 470 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $95.51. The company had a trading volume of 336,859 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,793,530. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $25.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.61, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $98.17 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $95.05.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). The company 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.98 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 62.97%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim reissued a "neutral" rating on shares of Ameren in a research note on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Ameren from $103.00 to $102.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.