Midland Wealth Advisors LLC Boosts Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Midland Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 28.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 3,492 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 775 shares during the period. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $311,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently weighed in on AEE shares. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 in the last ninety days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $99.14 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.51. The company has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 64.25%.

Ameren Company 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.