New York Life Investment Management LLC Grows Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 35,518 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 283 shares during the period. New York Life Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,166,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of AEE. Roxbury Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 86.2% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. boosted its holdings in Ameren by 134.5% in the fourth quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth about $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Ameren in the third quarter worth about $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 research note on Tuesday, January 21st. 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $92.70.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Price Performance

NYSE:AEE opened at $101.74 on Friday. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $101.75. 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 $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $93.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $89.72.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 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 in the previous year, the company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

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.