Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 68.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,760 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 29,298 shares during the quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund's holdings in Ameren were worth $995,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners increased its holdings in Ameren by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank increased its holdings in Ameren by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the subject of several analyst reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameren from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upped their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. 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 issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $79.40.

Ameren Trading Up 0.9 %

AEE traded up $0.69 during trading on Monday, reaching $74.35. The company had a trading volume of 1,392,938 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,731,385. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.47. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $90.72. The stock has a market cap of $19.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.01, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE - Get Free Report) last released 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren's previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.60%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren 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 value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company's stock.

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.