TAP Consulting LLC Has $512,000 Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

TAP Consulting LLC lowered its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 16.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,081 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after selling 1,376 shares during the quarter. TAP Consulting LLC’s holdings in Ameren were worth $512,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Ameren by 245.5% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 56,575 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $4,093,000 after purchasing an additional 40,202 shares during the period. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,168,000. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in shares of Ameren by 34.7% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 142,000 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $10,272,000 after purchasing an additional 36,611 shares during the period. Schrum Private Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Ameren in the third quarter valued at about $473,000. Finally, California Public Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of Ameren by 1.1% in the third quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 1,637,693 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $122,549,000 after purchasing an additional 17,468 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.09% of the company’s stock.

Ameren Price Performance

AEE stock traded down $1.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $73.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,201,406 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,735,562. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $90.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.44. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.29 and a 200 day simple moving average of $73.55.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 23rd. The utilities provider reported $0.60 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.61 by ($0.01). Ameren had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 10.42%. The firm had revenue of $1.62 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.03 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. Ameren’s quarterly revenue was down 20.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Ameren Co. will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Ameren Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 29th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 13th were paid a $0.67 dividend. This is an increase from Ameren’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.63. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 61.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CEO Martin J. Lyons sold 7,270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total value of $513,989.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 246,434 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,422,883.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 1,630 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.70, for a total transaction of $115,241.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 47,883 shares in the company, valued at $3,385,328.10. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $73.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, February 26th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Ameren from $74.00 to $73.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Ameren from $77.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Ameren from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Ameren has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.40.

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.