Machina Capital S.A.S. Sells 13,402 Shares of Ameren Corporation $AEE

Machina Capital S.A.S. reduced its stake in Ameren Corporation (NYSE:AEE) by 39.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 20,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 13,402 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,039,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 7.0% in the third quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 14,289 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,420,000 after buying an additional 937 shares during the last quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 15,096 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,500,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the period. AlphaCore Capital LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 28.2% in the 3rd quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 8,363 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $831,000 after buying an additional 1,840 shares during the last quarter. M Holdings Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $272,000. Finally, Ethic Inc. grew its stake in Ameren by 9.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 48,720 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,842,000 after buying an additional 4,337 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $113.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.43, a quick ratio of 0.54 and a current ratio of 0.74. The company has a 50-day moving average of $105.50 and a 200-day moving average of $108.72. Ameren Corporation has a 52 week low of $96.57 and a 52 week high of $118.32. The company has a market capitalization of $31.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.19, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.42.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, November 5th. The utilities provider reported $2.42 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.29 by $0.13. Ameren had a net margin of 17.90% and a return on equity of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $2.88 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.82 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Corporation will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 8th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 52.17%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 248 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.53, for a total transaction of $26,171.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,888 shares in the company, valued at $1,465,600.64. This trade represents a 1.75% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.72, for a total value of $719,680.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 193,790 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $21,456,428.80. This trade represents a 3.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.29% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on AEE. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Ameren from $133.00 to $126.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Ameren from $117.00 to $109.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $108.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Ameren from $113.00 to $107.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, BTIG Research dropped their price objective on Ameren from $126.00 to $121.00 in a research note on Tuesday, October 20th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $117.95.

About Ameren

Ameren Corporation is a regulated utility holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Through its subsidiaries, it provides electric and natural gas service to customers across Missouri and Illinois. Ameren Missouri generates, transmits and distributes electricity and delivers natural gas in parts of Missouri. Ameren Illinois operates electric transmission and distribution systems and provides natural gas delivery service in parts of Illinois. The company also develops and operates electric transmission infrastructure.