Park Avenue Securities LLC Has $217,000 Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Park Avenue Securities LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 10.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,936 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 361 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $217,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Legacy Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $305,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in Ameren by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,265 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $3,422,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Ameren by 68.8% in the first quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 2,038 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $151,000 after buying an additional 831 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. acquired a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $97,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 46.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,173 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after buying an additional 1,001 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In related news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,318,410.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly 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. 0.36% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. Barclays upgraded shares of Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research 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, Ameren currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.20.

Ameren Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $71.46 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $72.61 and a 200-day moving average of $71.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $67.03 and a 12-month high of $88.72. The company has a market capitalization of $19.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.61%.

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.