Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. Trims Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. cut its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,509,058 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 2,447 shares during the period. Ameren accounts for about 1.6% of Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co.’s portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Duff & Phelps Investment Management Co. owned approximately 0.57% of Ameren worth $134,517,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,846 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $165,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Ameren by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $427,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 6,276 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $559,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. now owns 9,937 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $886,000 after buying an additional 130 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB raised its stake in Ameren by 16.3% during the 4th quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 980 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $87,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This trade represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on AEE shares. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $97.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group increased their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $96.70.

Ameren Stock Performance

Ameren stock opened at $98.64 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a quick ratio of 0.44 and a current ratio of 0.66. Ameren Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $97.54 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.87. The company has a market capitalization of $26.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.32, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly 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 business posted $0.60 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 11th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.88%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.