Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.

Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. lowered its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 37,814 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,308 shares during the quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,735,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 1st quarter worth approximately $27,000. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 218.2% during the 3rd 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 period. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly 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 through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of AEE stock opened at $72.51 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $91.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $73.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.70%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.