Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by ZRC Wealth Management LLC

ZRC Wealth Management LLC lessened its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 24.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 455 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 151 shares during the period. ZRC Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $34,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Management LLC now owns 22,797 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,686,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares in the last quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Ameren during the first quarter worth $754,000. United Capital Management of KS Inc. raised its position in Ameren by 1.8% in the first quarter. United Capital Management of KS Inc. now owns 16,636 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,230,000 after acquiring an additional 299 shares in the last quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC raised its position in Ameren by 163.6% in the first quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 514 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 319 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in Ameren by 117.6% in the first quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 370 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Barclays raised Ameren from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $73.00 to $77.00 in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $79.20.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $70.56 on Friday. 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 fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $88.72. The business has a fifty day moving average of $72.39 and a 200-day moving average of $71.89. The stock has a market cap of $18.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.44.

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

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Ameren news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the company’s 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 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. Insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

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.