Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lowered its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 68.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,760 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 29,298 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Ameren were worth $995,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp now owns 20,487 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares during the last quarter. Aviva PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 5.3% in the third quarter. Aviva PLC now owns 3,972 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $297,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $582,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the period. CNB Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 0.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 27,127 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $2,030,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, 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 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 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 $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $73.66 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.49. 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 Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $90.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.86, a PEG ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 business had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.64%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is currently 61.33%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on AEE shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

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.