Intech Investment Management LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 64.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 38,517 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 15,045 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,849,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 117.6% in the 1st quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. YHB Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter worth $30,000. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 163.6% in the 1st quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EdgeRock Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on AEE. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, June 24th. UBS Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Friday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four 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 a consensus price target of $79.91.

Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded down $0.23 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $74.82. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,065,100 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,424,536. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $72.10 and its 200 day moving average price is $71.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.40. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $88.72. The company has a market capitalization of $19.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

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