Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.15 Million in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 15,900 shares of the utilities provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 6,325 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $473,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Aviva PLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,972 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $297,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $582,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 46.7% during the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Up 0.9 %

Ameren stock traded up $0.69 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $74.71. The stock had a trading volume of 977,530 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,750,289. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $91.18. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.19 and a 200 day moving average of $73.54. The firm has a market cap of $19.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. 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 (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a boost from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.59%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

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.