Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Savant Capital LLC

Savant Capital LLC increased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 9.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 6,530 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 585 shares during the period. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $472,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 5.7% in the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 78,554 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,878,000 after buying an additional 4,245 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 22.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 63,315 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,738,000 after buying an additional 11,592 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 105,389 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,886,000 after buying an additional 7,046 shares during the last quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. now owns 13,962 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,045,000 after buying an additional 344 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners grew its stake in Ameren by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren 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 $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $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

NYSE:AEE opened at $74.09 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.36.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.61%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Ameren 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.