Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Blue Trust Inc.

Blue Trust Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 28.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,442 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 968 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $218,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% during the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $56,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $74,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth about $83,000. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.70.

Ameren Stock Down 0.3 %

AEE stock opened at $98.03 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $26.17 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $92.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.74. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.31 and a one year high of $100.61.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 60.63%.

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.