Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Position Trimmed by Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.

Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. lessened its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 16,478 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 413 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,145,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 16.6% in the 4th quarter. Maple Brown Abbott Ltd now owns 1,574,860 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $113,925,000 after buying an additional 223,790 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in Ameren by 14.1% in the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 63,886 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $4,622,000 after purchasing an additional 7,908 shares during the last quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Ameren by 15.9% in the 4th quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 17,505 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,266,000 after purchasing an additional 2,398 shares during the last quarter. Flputnam Investment Management Co. acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $257,000. Finally, Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors lifted its holdings in Ameren by 23.9% in the 4th quarter. Bay Colony Advisory Group Inc d b a Bay Colony Advisors now owns 9,702 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $702,000 after purchasing an additional 1,870 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of Ameren stock traded down $0.12 on Thursday, hitting $71.81. The company had a trading volume of 70,429 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,764,969. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.46, a P/E/G ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $71.65 and a 200-day moving average of $73.50. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $91.18.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.42% and a net margin of 15.36%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.73%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 61.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AEE has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America upped 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. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com cut Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays decreased their target price on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

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.