Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Purchases 25,898 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) by 17.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 172,441 shares of the utilities provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,898 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc.’s holdings in Ameren were worth $12,754,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in AEE. PEAK6 Investments LLC purchased a new position in Ameren during the 1st quarter valued at about $605,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Ameren by 3.4% in the first quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 25,317 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $1,872,000 after purchasing an additional 821 shares during the last quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 10.8% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 8,360 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $618,000 after purchasing an additional 817 shares during the last quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 108.1% in the first quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 226 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shell Asset Management Co. lifted its position in Ameren by 183.4% in the first quarter. Shell Asset Management Co. now owns 7,643 shares of the utilities provider’s stock valued at $565,000 after purchasing an additional 4,946 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Ameren Stock Up 0.6 %

NYSE AEE opened at $78.04 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $72.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.04. The company has a market capitalization of $20.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.44. Ameren Co. has a 52 week low of $67.03 and a 52 week high of $86.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.31.

Ameren (NYSE:AEE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, May 9th. The utilities provider reported $0.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.06 by ($0.08). The business had revenue of $1.82 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.19 billion. Ameren had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 10.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Ameren Co. will post 4.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Ameren Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 12th were issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 3.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 12th. Ameren’s dividend payout ratio is presently 61.61%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AEE has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group initiated coverage on Ameren in a report on Friday, July 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $87.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Ameren in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $73.00 target price on the stock. StockNews.com raised Ameren from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Ameren from $76.00 to $72.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on Ameren from $81.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $79.91.

Insider Buying and Selling at Ameren

In other news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total value of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Rafael Flores sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.29, for a total transaction of $106,935.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,768 shares in the company, valued at approximately $981,520.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Mark C. Lindgren sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.53, for a total value of $302,120.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 43,935 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,318,410.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.42% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.