CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC Has $20.51 Million Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC reduced its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE – Get Rating) by 16.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 254,606 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 49,976 shares during the period. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $20,509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. CI Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 1,006.5% in the 3rd quarter. CI Investments Inc. now owns 343 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Mach 1 Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 2nd quarter valued at about $48,000. 78.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $83.71 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $73.28 and a fifty-two week high of $99.20. The stock has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.22, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.29, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a current ratio of 0.79. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $85.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $86.09.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE – Get Rating) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 16th. The utilities provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.56 by $0.07. Ameren had a net margin of 13.50% and a return on equity of 10.50%. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.48 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 32.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be given a dividend of $0.63 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $2.52 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.01%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.59. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 57.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $93.00 to $89.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $97.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 17th. Finally, Guggenheim downgraded Ameren from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $84.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, January 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $94.90.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,900 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $86.15, for a total transaction of $163,685.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,172 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,220,917.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 3,130 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $81.19, for a total value of $254,124.70. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 45,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,681,398.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,900 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.15, for a total transaction of $163,685.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,172 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,220,917.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 63,509 shares of company stock valued at $5,221,792 in the last 90 days. 0.52% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Company Profile

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Ameren Corp. is a public utility holding company, which engages in the provision of electric and natural gas services. It operates through the following segments: Ameren Missouri, Ameren Illinois Electric Distribution, Ameren Illinois Natural Gas, Ameren Transmission, and Other. The Ameren Transmission segment consists of the aggregated electric transmission businesses of Ameren Illinois and Ameren Transmission Company of Illinois (ATXI).