Sentry Investment Management LLC Sells 146 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 9.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,355 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 146 shares during the quarter. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $98,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Colony Group LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. Colony Group LLC now owns 3,405 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $294,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its stake in Ameren by 0.7% in the second quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 18,055 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 2.3% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,928 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $512,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the period. Toroso Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. Toroso Investments LLC now owns 3,059 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 142 shares during the period. Finally, Alaska Permanent Fund Corp boosted its position in Ameren by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after acquiring an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 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 value of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 through the SEC website. 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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AEE has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Barclays lowered their price target 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 report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two equities research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $72.51 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $91.18. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $71.74 and a 200 day moving average of $73.49.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) 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 company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

About Ameren

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.