Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Increases Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC grew its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the period. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.6% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,139,956 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,149,221,000 after buying an additional 334,752 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,672,164 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $581,661,000 after acquiring an additional 127,287 shares in the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 4,561,994 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $398,992,000 after acquiring an additional 39,300 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 59.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $230,158,000 after purchasing an additional 984,879 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its position in Ameren by 26.1% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 2,318,537 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $202,779,000 after purchasing an additional 479,668 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE AEE opened at $97.12 on Thursday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $67.03 and a fifty-two week high of $98.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a current ratio of 0.63. The company has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $91.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $88.11.

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 paid a $0.71 dividend. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.92%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on AEE shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.00.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total value of $598,975.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. This trade represents a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate 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.