Keb Asset Management LLC Sells 104 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Keb Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.7% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 13,941 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 104 shares during the quarter. Ameren accounts for approximately 0.4% of Keb Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Keb Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $1,243,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synergy Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position in Ameren by 49.4% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Finally, 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. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. 0.42% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Ameren Stock Up 1.5 %

Ameren stock opened at $98.55 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $94.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.39. The stock has a market cap of $26.60 billion, a PE 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 earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates 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 company posted $0.60 earnings per share. Research analysts predict 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. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.88%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price 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. One 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 company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $93.40.

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.