Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE) Shares Bought by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its position in Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 51.7% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,064,877 shares of the utilities provider's stock after purchasing an additional 362,772 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. owned about 0.40% of Ameren worth $93,134,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in AEE. Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Ameren during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,417,000. FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Ameren by 59.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,631,580 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $230,158,000 after buying an additional 984,879 shares during the last quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Ameren in the second quarter worth approximately $2,632,000. Lindenwold Advisors INC bought a new stake in shares of Ameren during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,682,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. grew its position in Ameren by 79.1% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 246,030 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $17,496,000 after acquiring an additional 108,664 shares during the last quarter. 79.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Ameren Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE AEE traded down $0.14 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $88.85. 1,059,417 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 993,308. Ameren Co. has a 12 month low of $67.03 and a 12 month high of $95.69. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $90.37 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 0.63 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. The company has a market cap of $23.72 billion, a PE ratio of 20.91, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.48.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 11th were given a $0.67 dividend. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 3.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, December 11th. Ameren's payout ratio is currently 63.06%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on AEE. Jefferies Financial Group assumed coverage on shares of Ameren in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. They set a "buy" rating and a $97.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Ameren from $86.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Barclays lifted their target price on Ameren from $77.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and raised their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Ameren has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $89.89.

Ameren Company 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.