Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Sells 2,111 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lowered its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 197,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,111 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $14,290,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Ameren in the first quarter worth $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 218.2% during the third quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the first quarter valued at $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday. StockNews.com downgraded Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Mizuho cut their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $71.58 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.08 billion, a PE ratio of 16.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.41 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $71.55 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.54. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $67.03 and a one year high of $91.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.63 EPS. Research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.74%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.36% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.