State of Alaska Department of Revenue Cuts Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 1.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 36,220 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 660 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in Ameren were worth $3,228,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its position in Ameren by 1.5% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 8,513 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $745,000 after purchasing an additional 124 shares in the last quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Ameren by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. CWA Asset Management Group LLC now owns 4,786 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $427,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC grew its stake in Ameren by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC now owns 3,107 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $272,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in Ameren by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 9,110 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $797,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its position in Ameren by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 10,046 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $896,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Ameren Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of AEE opened at $97.09 on Monday. Ameren Co. has a 52-week low of $67.03 and a 52-week high of $97.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $91.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.76. The company has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 22.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be paid a dividend of $0.71 per share. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.93%. Ameren’s payout ratio is 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on AEE shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays cut Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. Evercore ISI upgraded Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.