Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Acquired by Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $961,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 2,992 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after buying an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.5% in the first quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $221,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 52.8% in the 1st quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 550 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 190 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.45 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $81.75. 314,883 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,674,776. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.17 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.90. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $84.40. The company has a market cap of $21.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 1st. The utilities provider reported $0.97 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.93 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.87 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue was down 3.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.90 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, September 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, September 11th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.28%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. UBS Group began coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

About Ameren

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.