California Public Employees Retirement System Sells 5,540 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

California Public Employees Retirement System lessened its holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 0.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,231,579 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 5,540 shares during the quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Ameren were worth $109,783,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Hartree Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,419,000. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in Ameren during the 4th quarter worth $719,000. Horizon Investment Services LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 17.2% during the 4th quarter. Horizon Investment Services LLC now owns 18,557 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,654,000 after purchasing an additional 2,725 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its position in Ameren by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 20,071 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,789,000 after purchasing an additional 1,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Ameren by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 80,596 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $7,184,000 after buying an additional 2,418 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Trading Up 1.0 %

Shares of AEE stock opened at $100.69 on Tuesday. Ameren Co. has a 1-year low of $69.39 and a 1-year high of $104.10. The company has a market cap of $27.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.78, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.44. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $97.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.20.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $0.60 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 11th were issued a $0.71 dividend. This represents a $2.84 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.82%. This is a boost from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 64.25%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 5,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,344 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,393,781.28. The trade was a 11.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total value of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at $1,424,423.65. The trade was a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 12,959 shares of company stock worth $1,316,712. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

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.