UniSuper Management Pty Ltd Increases Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 541,515 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,101 shares during the quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd’s holdings in Ameren were worth $48,271,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Synergy Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Ameren during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth $38,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mather Group LLC. raised 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 purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares in the company, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $98.86 on Thursday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $97.44 and its 200 day moving average is $91.82. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $69.39 and a 12 month high of $104.10. The company has a market capitalization of $26.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41.

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

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of several recent research reports. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 21st. Barclays upped their price target 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. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $96.70.

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.