Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Grows Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 14.1% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 63,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,908 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,622,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Penserra Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 218.2% in the 3rd quarter. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC now owns 350 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 240 shares during the period. Dark Forest Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Finally, Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA purchased a new position in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’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 $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the company’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 $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the company’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 $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 1.9 %

Ameren stock opened at $73.88 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $19.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.91, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $73.52. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $91.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). The business had revenue of $1.62 billion during 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a $0.67 dividend. This is a positive change 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 3.63%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on AEE. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Bank of America raised their price objective on 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 objective on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.40.

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.