Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 25.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 227,284 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 46,577 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $16,442,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Stevens Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Stack Financial Management Inc purchased a new position in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at $11,438,000. GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $151,000. Duality Advisers LP purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth about $1,756,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 124.5% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of several research reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. 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 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Barclays decreased 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 note on Monday, April 15th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $74.09 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $72.70 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.46. The stock has a market cap of $19.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.43. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $67.03 and a 1-year high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current 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. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren 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 $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.