California Public Employees Retirement System Has $117.89 Million Stock Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

California Public Employees Retirement System trimmed its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,629,641 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 8,052 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ameren were worth $117,888,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Compagnie Lombard Odier SCmA bought a new stake in shares of Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $37,000. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Ameren in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Concord Wealth Partners raised its holdings in Ameren by 64.9% in the 3rd quarter. Concord Wealth Partners now owns 620 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares during the period. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in Ameren by 124.5% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 624 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 346 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,385,328.10. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $513,989.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 246,434 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,422,883.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 47,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.36% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on AEE shares. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

Ameren Stock Performance

NYSE AEE opened at $74.02 on Wednesday. Ameren Co. has a 1 year low of $67.03 and a 1 year high of $91.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.94, a P/E/G ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 0.44. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $72.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $73.53.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.03 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, March 12th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 3.62%. This is a positive change from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 61.33%.

About Ameren

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.