Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC Invests $84,000 in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Kohmann Bosshard Financial Services LLC bought a new stake in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 943 shares of the utilities provider’s stock, valued at approximately $84,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AEE. Roxbury Financial LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Ameren by 49.4% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 538 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its position in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter worth $56,000. 79.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the 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 owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.42% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on AEE. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. 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 report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays downgraded Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.70.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE opened at $101.74 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.02, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $93.93 and a 200-day moving average of $89.78. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. Ameren Co. has a 12-month low of $69.39 and a 12-month high of $101.75.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.60 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

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

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.