Sage Mountain Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Sage Mountain Advisors LLC decreased its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 5.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 2,274 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 124 shares during the quarter. Sage Mountain Advisors LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $203,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in AEE. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 13.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,566 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $749,000 after purchasing an additional 1,021 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 331,801 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $29,019,000 after buying an additional 19,217 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 6.9% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 4,196 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $367,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Ameren by 1.3% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 16,667 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $1,458,000 after buying an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Ameren during the third quarter worth about $320,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:AEE opened at $97.44 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.44, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.41. The company has a market cap of $26.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.04, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.48. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $69.39 and a 52 week high of $104.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $95.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.67.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The utilities provider reported $0.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.06). Ameren had a net margin of 15.51% and a return on equity of 10.34%. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.60 EPS. Research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.93 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, March 11th will be given a dividend of $0.71 per share. This represents a $2.84 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.91%. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.67. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Craig S. Ivey sold 2,716 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.27, for a total transaction of $266,901.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 14,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,424,423.65. This trade represents a 15.78 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Shawn E. Schukar sold 4,743 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $103.79, for a total value of $492,275.97. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 57,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,966,471.94. This represents a 7.62 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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. Company insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $100.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Barclays raised their price target on Ameren from $95.00 to $102.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $89.00 to $104.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $93.40.

Ameren 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.