Prudential Financial Inc. Purchases 20,124 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Prudential Financial Inc. raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 11.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 195,213 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,124 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $17,401,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Ameren by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $559,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in shares of Ameren by 16.3% in the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.7% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $98.64 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a PE ratio of 22.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $97.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $91.87. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $69.39 and a twelve month high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 period last year, the company earned $0.60 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.88%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 64.25%.

Insider Activity

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.