Miracle Mile Advisors LLC Has $269,000 Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Miracle Mile Advisors LLC lessened its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 4.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,633 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 189 shares during the period. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $269,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Ameren by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 7,414 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $536,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 3,051 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $221,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the period. Spirit of America Management Corp NY lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Spirit of America Management Corp NY now owns 8,050 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $582,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 73.8% in the 4th quarter. Cape Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gulf International Bank UK Ltd raised its stake in Ameren by 1.1% during the first quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd now owns 21,735 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,607,000 after acquiring an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of AEE opened at $70.75 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $72.68 and a 200-day moving average of $71.95. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $88.72. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 0.59 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a dividend of $0.67 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.79%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the topic of several research reports. Barclays raised shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were 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 owns 13,768 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% 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.