Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Sells 31,360 Shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC decreased its holdings in shares of Ameren Co. (NYSE:AEE - Free Report) by 84.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,824 shares of the utilities provider's stock after selling 31,360 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC's holdings in Ameren were worth $509,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of AEE. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Ameren by 115.3% in the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 366 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Ameren during the 2nd quarter valued at about $26,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Ameren in the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. EntryPoint Capital LLC lifted its position in Ameren by 108.1% in the 1st quarter. EntryPoint Capital LLC now owns 435 shares of the utilities provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Ameren by 227.3% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 455 shares of the utilities provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 79.09% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other Ameren news, EVP Chonda J. Nwamu sold 1,610 shares of Ameren stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $81.94, for a total transaction of $131,923.40. Following 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 3.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.42% of the company's stock.

Ameren Price Performance

Ameren stock traded up $1.50 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $91.22. 1,447,521 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,544,125. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $87.15 and a two-hundred day moving average of $79.65. The company has a market cap of $24.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.45. The company has a current ratio of 0.63, a quick ratio of 0.41 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.37. Ameren Co. has a twelve month low of $67.03 and a twelve month high of $92.77.

Ameren Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, December 11th will be given a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 11th. This represents a $2.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.94%. Ameren's dividend payout ratio is presently 63.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AEE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on Ameren from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Ameren from $91.00 to $96.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, September 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Ameren from $86.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Mizuho upgraded Ameren from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their price target for the company from $82.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Ameren from $81.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. One equities 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $87.80.

Ameren 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.