Larson Financial Group LLC Has $352,000 Stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 15.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,949 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 540 shares during the quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $352,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,417,000. FMR LLC grew its position in Ameren by 59.8% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Lindenwold Advisors INC acquired a new stake in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,682,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Ameren by 51.7% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $93,134,000 after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares during the period. Finally, HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC grew its position in Ameren by 265.0% in the 3rd quarter. HITE Hedge Asset Management LLC now owns 173,771 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $15,198,000 after purchasing an additional 126,157 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE AEE opened at $99.14 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a one year low of $69.39 and a one year high of $104.10. The business’s fifty day moving average is $95.04 and its 200-day moving average is $90.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.43, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44.

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 in the prior year, the firm earned $0.60 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict 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 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 yield of 2.86%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is currently 64.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently issued reports on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $93.40.

Insider Activity at Ameren

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Company 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.