M&T Bank Corp Boosts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 8.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 24,669 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Ameren were worth $2,199,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Atria Investments Inc grew its position in Ameren by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 15,659 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,396,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,601 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $410,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the last quarter. Synergy Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Ameren by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,696,831 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $151,256,000 after purchasing an additional 43,289 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Ameren by 14.4% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 10,174 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $907,000 after purchasing an additional 1,282 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $98.55 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $94.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.39. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 last year, the firm posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on AEE. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Insiders own 0.42% 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.