Mackenzie Financial Corp Cuts Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mackenzie Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 225,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,157 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned 0.09% of Ameren worth $16,342,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 100,874.2% during the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 74,273,572 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $6,604,406,000 after purchasing an additional 74,200,015 shares during the period. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 22.9% in the fourth quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 11,824,707 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,051,453,000 after buying an additional 2,200,700 shares during the period. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 8.0% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,889,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,302,326,000 after buying an additional 1,029,187 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,978,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,810,808,000 after acquiring an additional 681,658 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America increased their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’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 value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Performance

AEE stock opened at $72.51 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $91.18. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $71.74 and its two-hundred day moving average is $73.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.59, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly 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). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.63 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.70%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

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.