Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Sold by Concord Wealth Partners

Concord Wealth Partners trimmed its stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 41.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the quarter. Concord Wealth Partners’ holdings in Ameren were worth $26,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 346 shares during the period. CNB Bank increased its position in shares of Ameren by 46.7% in the third quarter. CNB Bank now owns 641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 93.7% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 703 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares during the period. Finally, Sandy Spring Bank lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 96.7% in the 4th quarter. Sandy Spring Bank now owns 773 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 380 shares in the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays dropped their price target on Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. StockNews.com lowered Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Bank of America lifted their target price 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 assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $79.40.

Insider Activity at Ameren

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

Ameren Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE:AEE opened at $74.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $19.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 0.44. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $72.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $73.46. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $90.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 3rd. The utilities provider reported $0.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.30% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.19 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.62%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

About Ameren

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.