Janus Henderson Group PLC Has $410.17 Million Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Janus Henderson Group PLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,601,449 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,455 shares during the period. Janus Henderson Group PLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $410,174,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Ameren by 0.4% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $42,849,000 after buying an additional 1,856 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 6.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,019,000 after acquiring an additional 19,217 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,405,000 after acquiring an additional 232 shares during the period. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. increased its stake 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 valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 312 shares during the period. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after acquiring an additional 169 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $99.89.

Ameren Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of AEE opened at $97.48 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $98.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $94.62. 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 52-week low of $69.39 and a 52-week high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $26.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.05, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. The business had revenue of $2.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.98 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be paid a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.91%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total value of $557,535.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,393,781.28. This represents a 11.26% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.