Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Stock Holdings Increased by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 14.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,258 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,192 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,125,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% during the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the first quarter valued at $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 73.8% in the fourth quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the period. EdgeRock Capital LLC bought a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at about $38,000. Finally, Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its holdings in Ameren by 163.6% during the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of AEE traded up $1.18 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $73.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 929,970 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,726,138. The company has a 50 day moving average of $72.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $71.90. 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 cap of $19.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.58 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $88.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th were paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.63%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares in the company, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AEE shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. StockNews.com upgraded Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $79.20.

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.