Jennison Associates LLC Decreases Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Jennison Associates LLC lessened its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 29.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,065,872 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 446,314 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC owned about 0.41% of Ameren worth $77,105,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc raised its position in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $473,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $205,000. Everence Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 124.4% in the 3rd quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,630 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 4,230 shares during the last quarter. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the third quarter worth $25,000. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 1.1% during the third quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,155 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,583,000 after acquiring an additional 224 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on AEE. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $79.40.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE traded down $0.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $74.02. 1,108,556 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,759,829. The firm has a market cap of $19.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The stock's fifty day moving average is $71.95 and its 200 day moving average is $73.53. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Ameren's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

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.