Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC Raises Holdings in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC lifted its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 2.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,665 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after buying an additional 158 shares during the quarter. Avidian Wealth Enterprises LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $683,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jamison Private Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth about $44,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. lifted its position in shares of Ameren by 134.5% in the 4th quarter. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. now owns 544 shares of the utilities provider’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 312 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its stake in shares of Ameren by 86.2% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 540 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in Ameren during the third quarter valued at approximately $56,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Ameren in the third quarter worth approximately $74,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Michael L. Moehn sold 6,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.15, for a total transaction of $598,975.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 205,171 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $18,906,507.65. The trade was a 3.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock opened at $97.12 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $91.70 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $98.33.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.92%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 11th. Ameren’s payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on AEE shares. Evercore ISI raised Ameren from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $89.00 to $104.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Ameren from $93.00 to $98.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Barclays cut shares of Ameren from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the company from $88.00 to $95.00 in a report on Monday, January 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Ameren currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.00.

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.