Mackenzie Financial Corp Has $16.34 Million Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Mackenzie Financial Corp trimmed its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 225,899 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 6,157 shares during the quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Ameren were worth $16,342,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America increased 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. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $72.51 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a PE ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $91.18. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $71.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.49. 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 released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.63 earnings per share. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, 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 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.