New York Life Investment Management LLC Has $2.68 Million Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

New York Life Investment Management LLC lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 37,068 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 241 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,681,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the third quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after buying an additional 145 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY grew its holdings 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 worth $582,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. CNB Bank increased its position in shares of Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in Ameren by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $2,030,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Ameren Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AEE stock 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 stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $72.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.62%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the business’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 sale, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’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 in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.