American International Group Inc. Reduces Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

American International Group Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 68,943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 574 shares during the quarter. American International Group Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $4,987,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 7,133.8% during the 4th quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 960,286 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $694,670,000 after buying an additional 947,011 shares in the last quarter. Cohen & Steers Inc. bought a new stake in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth approximately $60,445,000. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its holdings in Ameren by 30.4% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,286,264 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $171,081,000 after acquiring an additional 532,800 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1,770.6% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 355,416 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $26,596,000 after acquiring an additional 336,416 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Brown Abbott Ltd increased its holdings in Ameren by 16.6% during the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,574,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $113,925,000 after acquiring an additional 223,790 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $70.25 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $88.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.48 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a fifty day moving average of $72.81 and a 200-day moving average of $72.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.59.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Ameren’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th will be given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.81%. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AEE. StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $69.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.70.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total transaction of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $981,520.72. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.