Millennium Management LLC Purchases 926,126 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 76.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,134,288 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 926,126 shares during the quarter. Millennium Management LLC owned 0.80% of Ameren worth $190,250,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in Ameren by 0.4% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 489,935 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $42,849,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 6.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $29,019,000 after purchasing an additional 19,217 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,064 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,405,000 after buying an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Ameren by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 8,489 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 169 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in Ameren by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,876 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $5,159,000 after acquiring an additional 3,523 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Ameren from $106.00 to $113.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Tuesday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $106.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 5th. Morgan Stanley restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Ameren in a report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Ameren from $101.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.89.

Insider Transactions at Ameren

In related news, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total transaction of $492,275.97. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $101.37, for a total transaction of $557,535.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at $4,393,781.28. This trade represents a 11.26% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 12,959 shares of company stock valued at $1,316,712 over the last 90 days. 0.42% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Ameren Stock Down 2.1%

Ameren stock opened at $95.31 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.56, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.51. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $98.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.67. 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 Co. has a fifty-two week low of $69.39 and a fifty-two week high of $104.10.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The utilities provider reported $1.07 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by ($0.01). Ameren had a return on equity of 10.34% and a net margin of 15.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.92 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.98 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 10th will be issued a $0.71 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 10th. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.98%. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 62.97%.

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.