Altshuler Shaham Ltd Has $243,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Altshuler Shaham Ltd lowered its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,366 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 531 shares during the period. Altshuler Shaham Ltd’s holdings in Ameren were worth $243,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. EdgeRock Capital LLC acquired a new position in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth about $38,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its position in Ameren by 64.9% in the third quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in Ameren by 124.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CNB Bank raised its position in Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE traded up $0.54 on Thursday, reaching $74.77. 1,359,320 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,737,824. The company has a fifty day moving average of $73.00 and a 200-day moving average of $73.34. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.00. The company has a market capitalization of $19.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.19, a PEG ratio of 2.49 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a return on equity of 10.20% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business’s revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.58%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is 61.61%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on AEE. 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 research report on Monday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.90.

Ameren Company 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.