Amalgamated Bank Cuts Stock Position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Amalgamated Bank reduced its position in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 23.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 52,389 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 16,278 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank's holdings in Ameren were worth $4,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of AEE. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Ameren by 5.4% in the third quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 45,691 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $3,996,000 after buying an additional 2,322 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Ameren by 6.2% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 146,775 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $12,837,000 after purchasing an additional 8,573 shares during the period. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. increased its stake in Ameren by 13.8% in the third quarter. Roman Butler Fullerton & Co. now owns 18,213 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $1,601,000 after purchasing an additional 2,211 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Ameren by 6.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 76,253 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $6,801,000 after purchasing an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Finally, Prosperitas Financial LLC increased its stake in Ameren by 9.2% in the third quarter. Prosperitas Financial LLC now owns 31,227 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $2,731,000 after purchasing an additional 2,632 shares during the period. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. UBS Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Friday, July 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $87.00 price target on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Argus upgraded Ameren to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total value of $131,923.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 44,432 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,640,758.08. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Stock Performance

Shares of Ameren stock traded up $3.64 on Friday, reaching $90.19. 2,268,955 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,591,171. The company has a quick ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $90.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.22, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.45. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $86.35 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.02.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be issued a dividend of $0.67 per share. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 63.06%.

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.